50 Books by 50 Women: Patricia Grace
Mar 01 ● min read ● Penguin Books NZ
Bird Child and Other Stories by Patricia Grace ~
“She did not groan or gasp, or even sigh for me. Could only cry for me, silent rivers in the inert forest light. From her, no word or murmur which would bring about our demise, the extinction of the remnants of a nation. Auē.”
A powerful new collection from one of Aotearoa’s most esteemed fiction writers.
Mythology and contemporary Māori life are woven together seamlessly in this spectacular collection by Aotearoa’s foremost short story writer.
The titular story ‘Bird Child’ plunges you deep into Te Kore, an ancient time before time. In another, the formidable goddess Mahuika, Keeper of Fire, becomes a doting mother and friend. Later, Grace’s own childhood vividly shapes the world of the young character Mereana; and a widower’s hilariously human struggle to parent his seven daughters is told with trademark wit and crackling dialogue.
Moving artfully across decades, landscapes, time and space, with tenderness and charm, Bird Child and Other Stories shows an author as adept and stimulating as ever.
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“Grace’s stories make a shining and enduring place formed of the brilliant weave of Māori oral storytelling.” – Joy Harjo
Fly Bird, fly Child, in every direction.
Know what there is to know of everything terrestrial,
Of all that has been laid out by Tāne-nui-a-Rangi.
Fly high. Fly high.
Know all that is celestial.
Attain the uncountable stars.