Read Around Oceania Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Oceania.
Best books from Oceania (267)
231.
Sleeps Standing by Witi Ihimaera, Hēmi Kelly EN
Country: Oceania / 
New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Both fiction and fact, this fascinating book is a kaleidoscopic exploration of the Battle of Orakau. During three days in 1864, 300 Maori men, women and children fought an Imperial army and captured the imagination of the world. The battle marked the end of the Land Wars in the Waikato and resulted in vast tracts of land being confiscated for European settlement. Instead of following the usual standpoint of the victors, this book takes a Maori perspective. It is centred around Witi Ihimaera's moving novella, Sleeps Standing, which views the battle through the eyes of a 16-year-old boy named Mo... continue
232.
The Parihaka Woman by Witi Ihimaera EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
A wonderfully surprising, inventive and deeply moving riff on fact and fiction, history and imagination from one of New Zealand's finest and most memorable storytellers. There has never been a New Zealand novel quite like The Parihaka Woman. Richly imaginative and original, weaving together fact and fiction, it sets the remarkable story of Erenora against the historical background of the turbulent and compelling events that occurred in Parihaka during the 1870s and 1880s. Parihaka is the place Erenora calls home, a peaceful Taranaki settlement overcome by war and land confiscation. As her worl... continue
233.
Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
It was a horrible death - lured into a pool of boiling mud and left there to die. Far from home on a wartime quest for German agents, Chief Inspector Alleyn knew that any number of people could have killed him.
Palau235.
Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia by Evelyn Flores, Emelihter Kihleng EN
Description:
For the first time, poetry, short stories, critical and creative essays, chants, and excerpts of plays by Indigenous Micronesian authors have been brought together to form a resounding—and distinctly Micronesian—voice. With over two thousand islands spread across almost three million square miles of the Pacific Ocean, Micronesia and its peoples have too often been rendered invisible and insignificant both in and out of academia. This long-awaited anthology of contemporary indigenous literature will reshape Micronesia’s historical and literary landscape. Presenting over seventy authors and one ... continue
236.
237.
The Palauan Arts by David Ramarui EN
Description:
The Palauan Arts was published and printed in 1980 in the Micronesian Reporter and a booklet form. The book analyses Palauan art and attempts to explain its various aspects and components: pictorial, carvings, ornamental, and artifacts. This is one of many titles authored by David Ramarui. Other titles include The Geography of Micronesia, 1953, Omilil Era Iungs, 1959.
238.
Kisses in the Nederends by Epeli Hau‘ofa EN
Country: Oceania / 
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Description:
In the best Rabelaisian tradition, this brilliant satire weaves a tale of improbabilities around the seat of the last great taboo. Oilei Bomboki wakes one morning with an excruciating pain that sends him anxiously searching for a cure. Unsuccessful treatments at the hands of various healers and doctors, culminating in a bizarre operation, lead the desperate Oilei to seek the help of Babu Vivekanand--sage, yogi, and conman. Through Babu's teachings, Oilei learns to love and respect the source of his own complaint. By turns savage and absurdly comic, this brilliant satire allows Hau'ofa to comme... continue
239.
We Are the Ocean: Selected Works by Epeli Hau‘ofa EN
Country: Oceania / Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Description:
Hau'ofa's essays criss-cross Oceania, creating a navigator's star chart of discussion and debate. Spurning the arcana of the intellectual establishments where he was schooled, Hau'ofa has crafted a distinctive - often lyrical, at times angry - voice that speaks directly to the people of the region and the general reader. He conveys his thoughts from diverse standpoints: university-based analyst, essayist, satirist and humorist, and practical catalyst for creativity. According to Hau'ofa, only through creative originality in all fields of endeavor can the people of Oceania hope to strengthen th... continue
240.
Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau‘ofa EN
Country: Oceania / Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Description:
In this lively satire of contemporary South Pacific life, we meet a familiar cast of characters: multinational experts, religious fanatics, con men, "simple" villagers, corrupt politicians. In writing about this tiny world of flawed personalities, Hau‘ofa displays his wit and range of comic resource, amply exercising what one reviewer called his “gift of seeing absurdity clearly."