The Matriarch

Witi Ihimaera

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Paperback

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English

Reed
30 January 2009

Fiction & Literature; Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

In keeping with his commitment to revisit his first five pieces of fiction, Witi Ihimaera has reworked the original text of this much-loved classic.

The matriarch is a woman of intelligence, wit, beauty and ruthlessness, and has become a mythical figure through her fight to repossess the land and sustain her people against the ravages wrought by the Pakeha. Priestess of the Ringatu faith, she has been virtually a law unto herself.

In his search for the truth behind the legends surrounding the matriarch, his grandmother, Tama Mahana delves deeper and deeper into Maori history and lore to understand the mysterious sources of her power and ambition.

Witi Ihimaera's prose is at turns lyrical and spare, sensuous and savage. Weaving fact with fiction, this remarkable odyssey into New Zealand history is a novel of stunning imaginative power.

Also available as an eBook

Winner of the Wattie Book of the Year, 1986 Runner-up for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, 1987

'Witi Ihimaera's uncompromising masterwork . . . A profound and spellbinding character study' - New Zealand Herald

By: Witi Ihimaera
Imprint: Reed
Country of Publication: New Zealand
Edition: 2nd Revised edition
Dimensions: Height: 197mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 38mm
Weight: 441g
ISBN: 9780143010920
ISBN 10: 0143010921
Pages: 512
Publication Date: 30 January 2009
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Witi Ihimaera was the first Maori to publish both a book of short stories and a novel, and since then has published many notable novels and collections of short stories. Described by Metro magazine as 'Part oracle, part memoralist,' and 'an inspired voice, weaving many stories together', Ihimaera has also written for stage and screen, edited books on the arts and culture, as well as published various works for children. His best-known novel is The Whale Rider, which was made into a hugely, internationally successful film in 2002. His novel Nights in the Garden of Spain was also made into a feature film, and was distributed internationally under the name of Kawa. The feature film White Lies was based on his novella Medicine Woman. And his novel Bulibasha, King of the Gypsies inspired the 2016 feature film Mahana. His first book, Pounamu, Pounamu, has not been out of print in the 40 years since publication. He has also had careers in diplomacy, teaching, theatre, opera, film and television. In 1993 Ihimaera spent a year in France on the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship. He has received numerous awards, including the Wattie Book of the Year Award and the Montana Book Award, the inaugural Star of Oceania Award, University of Hawaii 2009, a laureate award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation 2009, the