Read Around Oceania Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Oceania.
Best books from Oceania (281)
251.
The Palauan Arts by David Ramarui EN
PalauDescription:
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.
252.
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
253.
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
254.
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."
255.
Maiba : A Papuan Novel by Russell Soaba EN
Country: Oceania / Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Description:
The only child of the last chief of Makawana village, Maiba struggles to hold her people together in face of the polarizing forces of convention and modernization. Both protective and painfully aware of the weaknesses of her own community, Maiba acquires the wisdom she needs to face the future.
256.
Mata Sara by Regis Tove Stella EN
Country: Oceania / Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Description:
Mata Sara is a novel that fictionalises the ideas of alienation and displacement through the lives of 4 indigenous students who win scholarships to study overseas. These students endeavour through various ways to adapt to new landscapes and environments. In this new place, they find themselves strangers, a minority in the midst of a sea of dimdims who act strangely, whose values, practices etc. are often not understood by the students. At the same time, the dimdims also have crooked eyes because they cannot understand these students. Living in a foreign place, they encounter racism and other p... continue
258.
Cultural Refugees : Anthology of Poems by Julie Mota EN
Country: Oceania / Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Description:
This poetry collection is an exploration on whether cultural immersions and transitional processes are producing cultural refugees in our midst. The different perspectives represented in this collection opens up dialogue on how we Papua New Guineans look at our society, the changes that are happening and challenges us to discuss, embrace and pave a way forward for further exploration on the themes raised. It is a reflective collection that invites further dialogue even in informative and entertaining form.
259.
260.
Leaves of the Banyan Tree by Albert Wendt EN
SamoaDescription:
An epic spanning three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa, exploring on a grand scale such universal themes as greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge. Winner of the 1980 New Zealand Wattie Book of the Year Award, it is considered a classic work of Pacific literature.