![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It takes time for Materena to understand that ' it takes courage for a fruit to fall far from her tree', which is what her daughter eventually does. Materena loves Leilani but often struggles to understand this daughter who questions everything and often ' makes her feel like she's stupid' - there's an amusing sequence in which a foreign ( popa'a) encyclopedia saleswoman is interrogated mercilessly by the child, truly earning her commission. There are ceremonies to introduce the newborn to all the extended family, even to the dead in the cemetery, and the planting of a tree to reflect the child's well-being - Materena plants a frangipani for Leilani. Vaite shows us a woman's struggle to get hold of some of her man's pay before it's spent on ' a drink for les copains' the confrontations that occur between two enemy families, usually because of an implied slur - ' while the men are at war, the women stay at home and pray' who should be told ' a secret for the grave' what a mother tells a daughter in her ' Welcome into Womanhood' talk and the rituals that attend the birth of a child. Throughout, the author shares a charming folk wisdom that reminded me of Alexander McCall Smith's delightful No. F rangipani is the gentle story of professional cleaner Materena Mahi, ' the best listener' in Tahiti, and her strong-willed daughter Leilani. ![]()
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