The Uncle’s Story (2000) is a mid-career novel from Witi Ihimaera, New Zealand’s best-known Māori author because of the popularity of The Whale Rider (1987) which was made into a film. (See my review of the novella). He has sixteen novels to his credit, including Bulibasha (1994) which I reviewed as well. As the NZ Book Council’s website explains, although his intentions have changed over time, he is an author who writes about ‘the emotional landscape of the Māori people’, and their political and social reality.
The Uncle’s Story confronts the awkward truth of Māori hostility to same-sex relationships. Ihimaera came out explicitly in 1996 with Nights in the Gardens of Spain, which (I gather from Goodreads reviews) is set in New Zealand and is a raunchy novel about reconciling sexuality with family. The Uncle’s Story traces the same issues, but it explores the story of Sam Mahana, whose existence has been excised from the family because he came out as gay. Decades later his nephew Michael finds out about Sam when he too refuses to conceal his sexual identity and comes out to his family — and is also exiled from his community because of it.
Obviously things have changed in New Zealand because they legislated for same-sex marriage in 2013, well before Australia did. But this novel tells a story of the not-so-recent past, when Sam was tied to a fence and flogged by his own father, and was refused burial in the marae. (One thing readers need to note is that Ihimaera makes no concessions with Māori terminology or language. Either you read it with Google Translate at hand* or you just press on without knowing what is meant in some parts.) The marae is a the communal meeting place used for sacred and social purposes in Māori communities (and elsewhere throughout Polynesia). Entry is by invitation, and there are traditional rituals to usher visitors and family members into it. Sam’s father Arapeta is the hyper-masculine patriarch, his word on all matters is law, and he enforces it with brutal violence. When he says that there are no gay Māoris, no one dares argue until his grandson Michael forces the family to confront the issue.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/07/13/the-uncles-story-by-witi-ihimaera/ ( )

Ihimara is a master story teller. ( )

Up until today, I had been taking infrequent dips into this book whenever I had time to spend on myself during work days - the book was in my truck but I really enjoyed what I read whenever I read it. What happened today? I had a much longer than usual wait for road works and the story got me! I had to stop and finish it!
The narrative contains several stories within the story and each of them is terrific. I have liked all of the Witi Ihimaera books I had read so far and I really liked this one, especially as it raced towards its conclusion. The middle part of the book seemed to have been given either a very quick edit in a rush to publication, or a very quick completion in a rush to publication. I felt that the publishers had forced a finish somehow and some discontinuities arose. I don't want to believe that Mr. Ihimaera unnecessarily struck some important parts of the story because he wanted to. Of course, I could be completely wrong and a very stupid reader but I strongly felt that there were parts of the story left out of the edition I have - or they had been taken from it.
As usual with a lot of New Zealand writing, there was a strong strain of Maoriness running through the story. I love that. I also love the nods given to other "first peoples" experiences. I am somewhat forgiving of anger and intolerance in most of the world's identifiable cultures and I completely abhor it in pseudo-christian "whiteness". It makes me sad, thoughtful and embarrassed wherever I see or read of the phenomenon in whatever context it is presented.
This is a book I want now to share with my part-polynesian granddaughter. ( )

A captivating and moving story about two generations of Maori men attempting to come to terms with their sexuality and their Maori heritage. A really great read ( )