The Whale Rider [Paperback]

For those of us lucky to have seen the movie adaptation we will have been seduced by its magical allure and simple charm. If this incites us into reading the novel then we are doubly fortunate for we can see at first hand where all the magic comes from. The film works so well because at its heart pulsates a captivating story which is hugely indebted to the imaginative brilliance of the author, Witi Ihimaera. The Whale Rider revolves around a seemingly simple storyline yet it is testament to the novelist"s creative powers that although it is rooted within a specific Maori context on the East coast of the North island, New Zealand, the themes that the novel raises can apply to any similiar situation around the world without losing any of their power.
Koro Apirana is the respected "rangatira" (old noble leader) of the tribe, the chief who is the standard-bearer, the glue that keeps his family and society intact, whose role is to hand down the "mana" (prestige, honour) from generation to generation so that tradition can be kept alive. He is fixed in the "old ways" wanting to instill in the younger generation a respect for history, tradition and ancestry. Koro is Ihimarea"s mouthpiece for the older generation. His sense of right and morality is crudely interrupted when his grand-daughter, Kahu, is born who in turn is the voice through which the young speaks.
On Kahu"s arrival in his family, Koro"s world is thrown upside down. Expecting a boy, so that the chieftainship can be seamlessly passed down from eldest son to eldest son the birth of a girl poses a huge problem in the mind of the chief. This is a masculine world where masculine values are praised and valued such as courage, bravery, strength and resilience. Kahu in his eye doesn"t fulfil these criteria and therefore the line has been broken. In Ihimaera"s skilful characterisation gender stereotypes are subtly subverted in Kahu"s increasing strength as the story unfolds and in Nanny Flower"s, Koro"s wife, fierce indpendent streak who is constantly threatening her husband with a divorce.
From this dramatic opening, Ihimaera weaves a magical story blending myth and reality in equal measure bringing to light questions such as the importance of history, the role of the family, the interaction of man with his environment, conflict between generations and how the past inextricably shapes the present.
In Maori folklore there is a proverb which translated says "At the same time as the spiral is going forward, it is going back". The weight that tradition carries is intrinsic but so is the respect that must be shown towards the future. Koro who embodies the "old ways" and Kahu his fresh-faced ebullient grand-daughter, can they tolerate, love and respect each other in equal measure?
Ihimaera writes with shimmering briliance blessed with a poetic eye for detail and imagery mirrored, perhaps, by his love of nature in all its elemental beauty. It is no coincidence that the chapters are divided into the four seasons for one of the central concepts of the novella is man"s affinity with the natural world. Can love be given and reciprocated with simplicity and integrity? Is man"s inhumanity to man reflected by man"s breach with nature? Whales are a crucial symbol throughout and when a group of them wilfully strand themselves on the beach ( the most poignant scene in the book and one which will bring tears to even the most jaded of readers) is this a portent of something problematic in the human world, the dying of the family ideal perhaps or the loss of communion between man and man, man and beast?
Read this novel and allow yourself to be dazzled. Ihimaera is a confident storyteller, who writes with humour and integrity, whose tale will appeal to children and adults alike. The magic of his writing and his descriptive powers which interweave the human and the natural, the real and the imagined, the concrete and the mythical will leave you spellbound and wash over you like the unrelenting crash of surf. "The Whale Rider" is largely an upbeat tale about love, striving for balance between old and new, tradition and modernity, man and nature, myth and reality.
Philip Larkin quipped that "man hands on misery to man". Ihimaera has a more optomistic take on man"s capacity for good. He illustrates that if we respect and tolerate, love and learn in equal measure and not become blind to love on our own doorstep, regardless of gender, sex or age, then the future for humanity is hopeful. "The Whale Rider" is a great little novel which will give the unaccustomed reader a wonderful insight into Maori life, yet convey how the specific can adapt to the universal and will invite the curious to delve into other works by this intelligent, sensitive and positive storyteller.

Having watched the film I rushed to read this.
I was not disappointed.
It contains a riveting, magical and enlightning plot and language that is almost poetry.
The deep Moari culture is depicted with love and care.
A beautiful tale for children and adults alike!

Written in 1987, THE WHALE RIDER is a deceptively short book. Only 120 pages long, it's a richly layered story dealing with several major social issues: family relationships, gender discrimination, generational differences, racial prejudice, loss of the cultural identity of indigenous tribes, ecological conservationism and modern man's disconnection from his spiritual self.

Kahu is a young Maori girl who, from the moment of her birth, had a deep connection with her great-grandfather Koro Apirana, a powerful Maori Chieftan. Custodian of his people's indigenous culture, Koro searches desperately for his successor: a boy who, for the good of all his people, will value and understand the ancient Maori traditions as much as Koro does. Kahu's uncle Rawiri, who narrates most of the story, and her great-grandmother Nanni Flowers, see in Kahu's spirit that which Koro seeks: the soul of the future Chieftan who will lead the Maoris of Whangara into the 21st century. But Kahu is a girl and, in Maori tradition, only men can perform the sacred traditions that keep the Maori people blessed of their gods and their ancestors.

From the delightfully subversive feminist Nanni Flowers to good guy Rawiri who, along with a diverse group of people tried desperately to save 200 beached whales (one of the several scenes in the book which had me sobbing out loud), to the serene, compassionate and otherworldly Kahu, the story is filled with remarkable characters. These include the Old Whale, an ancient sea-creature that has survived for centuries to ensure that Kahu meets her destiny of ensuring that the sacred Maori traditions shall live on into the new century.

The lyrical, almost magical, descriptions of the herd of whales' journeys through the depths of the great oceans contrast beautifully with Rawiri's simple, down-to-earth narrative. The boneless, weightless feel of the writing in the whale scenes recreate both a transcendent spiritual state and the sensation of swimming underwater. From the comical rendition of the constant bickering of Koro Apirana and his wife Nanni Flowers, to the well of emotion that has him spontaneously performing the haka to support Kahu at her school prize-giving, Rawiri's gentle perceptions of his extended Maori family reveal the deep bonds of love and culture holding them together. "Family," he says to his white friend Jeff, "is Family."

Some of the Maori terms were, at times, confusing and the edition I read did not have a glossary of Maori terms, which would have been useful.

This lack, however, did not detract from the lush splendour of THE WHALE RIDER, a beautiful story of hope and promise.