Customer Reviews
A haunting drama - By: KiwiDe..., 26 Dec 2005 
This film leaves you with a longing to know more. It is setin small town New Zealand & is based around old fashioned Maori culture.
This is a great insight into old stlye Maori life & traditions. It is all about a little girl who thinks she has what it takes to lead her tribe - the only thing that standsin her way is her grandfather. He is stuckin tradition, & believes that a girl cannot be a chief.
With the help of her uncle, grandmother & the belated help of her father she realises her dream & ultimately wins over the respect of her grandfather.
This film really fills you with a sense of wonder for the old traditions of the maori people & the bonus material is a must see.
Don't miss it.
absolutely beautiful - By: Jeni, 08 Mar 2004 This book is one of the most peaceful & mindblowing reads ever.
Classic tale - By: , 11 Jul 2003 This is a great book for any age, easy to read & it has a classic story line to it. The pages are littered with Maaori words & phrases, but there is a glossaryin the back to help people not familiar with Maaori culture understand the history of Maaoriin NZ & the beleifs & culture of a very vibrant indigenous population.
I am a Kiwi livingin London & I loved The Whale Rider. It is well written & I felt very proud that although it was written overseas (NY) it still captures the essence of freedom & independance that is NZ.
one for all and all for one - By: Alexis Dimyan, 15 May 2003 For those of us lucky to have seen the movie adaptation we will have been seduced by its magical allure & 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 & 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 fixedin the "old ways" wanting to instillin the younger generation a respect for history, tradition & ancestry. Koro is Ihimarea"s mouthpiece for the older generation. His sense of right & morality is crudely interrupted when his grand-daughter, Kahu, is born whoin turn is the voice through which the young speaks.
On Kahu"s arrivalin 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 problemin the mind of the chief. This is a masculine world where masculine values are praised & valued such as courage, bravery, strength & resilience. Kahuin his eye doesn"t fulfil these criteria & therefore the line has been broken. In Ihimaera"s skilful characterisation gender stereotypes are subtly subvertedin Kahu"s increasing strength as the story unfolds &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 & realityin 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 & 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" & Kahu his fresh-faced ebullient grand-daughter, can they tolerate, love & respect each otherin equal measure?
Ihimaera writes with shimmering briliance blessed with a poetic eye for detail & imagery mirrored, perhaps, by his love of naturein 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 & reciprocated with simplicity & integrity? Is man"s inhumanity to man reflected by man"s breach with nature? Whales are a crucial symbol throughout & when a group of them wilfully strand themselves on the beach ( the most poignant scenein the book & one which will bring tears to even the most jaded of readers) is this a portent of something problematicin the human world, the dying of the family ideal perhaps or the loss of communion between man & man, man & beast?
Read this novel & allow yourself to be dazzled. Ihimaera is a confident storyteller, who writes with humour & integrity, whose tale will appeal to children & adults alike. The magic of his writing & his descriptive powers which interweave the human & the natural, the real & the imagined, the concrete & the mythical will leave you spellbound & wash over you like the unrelenting crash of surf. "The Whale Rider" is largely an upbeat tale about love, striving for balance between old & new, tradition & modernity, man & nature, myth & 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 & tolerate, love & learnin equal measure & 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 & will invite the curious to delve into other works by this intelligent, sensitive & positive storyteller.
