Books

A Piece of Land by Noel Hilliard Whitcombe and Tombs, 12/6d This collection of short stories is by the author of the novel ‘Maori Girl’. Many of the stories are concerned with Maori characters, and they present a good-humoured and convincing picture of Maori life in both the cities and the country. These people are real; one has met them. The circumstances in which they find themselves are equally true to life; sometimes painfully so—as, for example, in the story of the two brothers who, unknown to each other, answer the same accommodation advertisement in Wellington. The first brother to reach the house doesn't get the room, but later the landlady lets the second brother have it. That's right, how did you guess. Though they are full brothers, the first brother was obviously Maori—while with the second one, his Maori blood was not noticeable. These things are true, and it is good to have someone writing about them, if only to make more pakehas aware of them. But I don't want to give you the idea that this is a gloomy book. It's thoroughly enjoyable.

Ruapehu: Tribute to a Mountain by J. C. Graham A. H. & A. W. Reed, 22/6d When Te Heu Heu Tukino entrusted his sacred mountain to the New Zealand nation, we gained a rich heritage. This book is an account of the recent history of Tongariro National Park, and has some excellent illustrations. It is a fine guide-book to the district, and of particular value to people interested in winter sports. The Maori history of the area is dismissed in a couple of pages. It seems rather a pity that in such an ambitious book more space could not have been devoted to this, for it would surely have been of interest to many readers.

Coal Flat by Bill Pearson Pauls Book Arcade, 21/- Coal Flat, the fictitious community which is the subject of this novel, is a mining township on the West Coast of the South Island. Paul Rogers, the novel's hero, is a young, somewhat vaguely idealistic school-teacher who comes to work there. It is just after the last war; Paul, who is from the Coast himself, has just come back from the army, and before that he had been at university. His attempts to bring to Coal Flat some of the knowledge and experience he has gained in his years away from the town bring him into conflict with the people who live there, and the relation between Paul and the community to which he belongs is the central theme of the story. This is a long novel, in which a great many characters and activities are explored with depth and subtlety. It is a complete portrait of a community, described with sober realism and with an exceptionally sensitive ear for dialogue. The book's length may not be entirely justified. But as well as being one of the most ambitious novels ever to be published in New Zealand, ‘Coal Flat’ is certainly one of the most successful.

Games and Dances of the Maori: A Guide Book for Teachers Government Printer, 5/-x This book is published by the Physical Education Branch of the Education Department, and is based on a careful editing of the cyclostyled notes distributed by the Branch over a period of many years. It is intended as a guide for teachers wishing to teach Maori games, action songs and haka to their classes. The difficulties involved in teaching and learning action songs and hakas from books are notorious, but provided that teachers already have some knowledge of Maori culture, they should find this publication most useful. It will also be of considerable value to many leaders of Maori clubs.

Men Came Voyaging by Colleen M. Sheffield Helensville Borough Council, 20/- ‘Men Came Voyaging’ is a full history of the town of Helensville and its immediate district. It was written by the late Colleen M. Sheffield, the talented Maori writer who was among those who were killed in the tragic accident on Brynderwyn Hill last February. Written in celebration of Helensville's centennial year, the book is the product of intensive research. It covers the entire history of the district—the formation of the earliest forests and sandhills, the complicated Maori history, the changes brought by the Pakehas—with breadth of imagination and a painstaking respect for detail. —M.O.