Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All
A New Zealand Story
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3.4 • 5 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A beautifully written, fiercely intelligent and boldly conceived book that puts the author's unlikely marriage to a Maori man into the context of the history of Western colonization of New Zealand and the South Pacific.
Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All is the story of the cultural collision between Westerners and the Maoris of New Zealand, told partly as a history of the complex and bloody period of contact between Europeans and the Maoris in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and partly as the story of Christina Thompson's marriage to a Maori man.
As an American graduate student studying history in Australia, Thompson traveled to New Zealand and met a Maori known as "Seven." Their relationship is one of opposites: he is a tradesman, she is an intellectual; he comes from a background of rural poverty, she from one of middleclass privilege; he is a "native," she descends directly from "colonizers." Nevertheless, they shared a similar sense of adventure and a willingness to depart from the customs of their families and forge a life together on their own.
In this book, which grows out of decades of reading and research, Thompson explores cultural displacement through the ages and the fascinating history of Europeans in the South Pacific, beginning with Abel Tasman's discovery of New Zealand in 1642 and Cook's circumnavigation of 1770. Transporting us back and forth in time and around the world, from Australia to Hawaii to tribal New Zealand and finally to a house in New England that has ghosts of its own, Come on Shore brings to life a lush variety of characters and settings. Yet at its core, it is the story of two people who meet, fall in love, and are forever changed.
"A multilayered, highly informative and insightful book that blends memoir, historical and travel narrative...vivid and meticulously researched."--San Francisco Chronicle
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this unusual hybrid of history and memoir, Harvard Review editor Thompson examines the historical collisions between Westerners and Maoris through the lens of her marriage to a Maori man. As an American grad student in Australia, Thompson met her husband-to-be, known as Seven, while on vacation in New Zealand. She was petite, blonde and intellectual; he was large, dark and working-class. Yet within a short time, they had married and started a family. Their relationship, and her scholarship, took them back and forth across the Pacific, until they finally settled in her family's New England home outside Boston. Thompson's deep knowledge of the history of Europeans in the Pacific allows her to trace the misunderstandings and stereotypes that have marked perceptions of Polynesians up to the present day. A sensitive observer and polished stylist, Thompson is never dully tendentious or dogmatic. The narrative moves smoothly by way of well-told anecdotes both personal and historical. At times, Thompson covers so much territory "there's a stray chapter about her family's interactions with Native Americans in Minnesota "that it can feel like she's trying to do too much, yet her prose never disappoints. Seven, the man at the center of the book, remains pleasingly opaque, as if Thompson is saying that we can never know completely even those we love best.
Customer Reviews
Incredible Story
Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All by Christina Thompson is a brilliant and captivating memoir that takes the reader on a journey through the author's life as a white woman married to a Maori man in New Zealand. Thompson's writing is both honest and poignant, making for an incredibly engaging and enlightening read.
The book offers a unique perspective on the relationship between the Maori people and the white colonizers in New Zealand, as Thompson delves deep into the history and culture of the Maori people. Through her personal experiences, the author skillfully examines the complexities of race, identity, and belonging in a country with a complicated and painful history of colonization.
Thompson's prose is lyrical and evocative, bringing to life the stunning landscapes of New Zealand and the rich cultural traditions of the Maori people. Her vivid descriptions of the customs, beliefs, and practices of the Maori people are both informative and deeply respectful, and her love and admiration for her husband's culture is palpable throughout the book.
What sets Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All apart from other memoirs is Thompson's ability to seamlessly blend personal storytelling with cultural history and analysis. The result is a book that is both insightful and moving, and one that offers a unique perspective on the complexities of race and culture in contemporary society.
In short, Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All is a beautifully written and deeply affecting memoir that is sure to resonate with readers from all walks of life. Highly recommended!