Read Around Oceania Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Oceania.
Best books from Oceania (281)
261.
Freelove : A Novel by Sia Figiel EN
SamoaDescription:
It is 1985 in Nu'uolemanusa/Village of the Sacred Owl, Western Samoa. Madonna's Like a Virgin rules the airwaves. Brilliant and inquisitive high school student and Star Trek fanatic, 17 1/2 year old Inosia Alofafua Afatasi, is sent by her mother to the capital, Apia, to buy three giant white threads. While she waits at the bus-stop, Mr. Ioane Viliamu, her teacher of Science and Mathematics and recent graduate of the University of Papua New Guinea and the pastor's eldest son, in turn, her spiritual brother, stops to offer her a ride in his red pick-up truck. Should she wait for the bus? Or shou... continue
262.
263.
Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel EN
Description:
Thirteen-year-old Alofa Filiga struggles to come to terms with womanhood, her search for identity, and the restrictions of life in her Samoan village.
264.
Coconut Milk by Dan Taulapapa McMullin EN
Description:
Coconut Milk is the first book-length collection of poems by contemporary queer Samoan writer and painter Dan Taulapapa McMullin. His poems humorously attack cultural appropriation, gender, and the hypocrisies of Western influence in Oceania today. Pulling at the stereotype of a beautiful Polynesia available for the taking, his poems challenge and carve out new avenues of meaning for Pacific Islanders.
265.
El Lugar Donde Nacimos by Sia Figiel ES
Description:
La explosión de las fantasías y pesadillas de la adolescencia en el marco de la Polinesia retratada más allá de tópico idílico. «Gauguin ha muerto. No existe el paraíso» (de Alofa)
A través del relato de Alofa, la protagonista, tres adolescentes samoanas comienzan a desvelar los tabús de la sexualidad y la ausencia de veracidad en las afirmaciones de los mayores, y aprenden así a sus expensas el rigor de la hipocresía social. El efecto de contraste entre la amargura del anecdotario familiar y la l&iacut... continue
266.
La muchacha en el círculo de la luna by Sia Figiel ES
Description:
Por las noches nos sentamos en la hierba. Tanto si está húmeda como si está seca. Si ha llovido como si no. Y hablamos de las otras chicas. Los parientes de la gente. Los chicos. Y la comida. Anoche la familia de Moa cenó kale pisupu. Preparado con leche de coco y daditos de papa. Es la única familia de Malaefou que lo prepara así. La única. Con un gran bol de arroz. "Y aun podíamos haber tomado segundos -dijo-; incluso terceros". Pero ella estaba demasiado llena. Y le dio sus sobras a "Whiskey", nuestro perro, que sabe donde arrimarse por las noches. Telelei no dijo lo que cenaron. Y nadie pr... continue
267.
Declaración de independencia by Albert Wendt ES
Description:
Albert Wendt, nacido en Samoa en 1939, es considerado una de las figuras más relevantes de la literatura del Pacífico. Ha publicado novelas, relatos y poesía, teatro y crítica literaria y ha editado numerosas antologías de literatura del Pacífico. Se ha convertido en uno de los autores más prolíficos y aclamados de la zona, como se evidencia en los numerosos galardones que ha recibido. En la actualidad vive en Nueva Zelanda y es profesor emérito en la Universidad de Auckland.Declaración de Independencia es uno de sus relatos... continue
268.
They who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel EN
Description:
Weaving together the stories of three generations of Samoan women, contrasting the traditional and the modern,They Who Do Not Grieveis a stunning new novel from one of the Pacific's most exciting writers. Malu, brought up by her grandmother, has only a ghostly memory of her dead mother. And 'malu' is also the name of the Samoan woman's traditional tattoo, and the shame and grief not completing the tattoo ceremony can haunt a life forever. Young Malu, watching the Americans living on the island, sees the modern way, the Nineties discontent overtaking the Sixties notions of an island paradise, w... continue
269.
Description:
When Leila moves to Samoa, all she wants is a family, a place to belong. Instead she discovers the local ancient myths of the telesa spirit women are more than just scary stories. The more she finds out about her heritage, the more sinister her new home turns out to be. Embraced by a Covenant Sisterhood of earth's elemental guardians - what will Leila choose? Her fiery birthright as a telesa? Or will she choose the boy who offers her his heart? Daniel - stamped with the distinctive tattoo markings of a noble Pacific warrior and willing to risk everything for the chance to be with her. Can thei... continue
270.
Afakasi Woman by Lani Wendt Young EN
Description:
A collection of 24 short stories; the joys and tribulations of being a woman in Samoa and the struggles brought to an island nation by climate change.