The Māori and Pākehā writer Becky Manawatu’s first novel, Auē (meaning “to cry, wail or howl” in te reo Māori), came across my desk in a pile of books to judge for the 2020 Ockhams, New Zealand’s most prestigious literary award. I’d never heard of Manawatu so the book arrived as blank as a newborn – and yet Auē read as if reincarnated for countless lives. It was an assured and flawless family drama exploring violence and redemption. It scooped the prize. In my notes I said the writing was “like acid on the skin”. Manawatu has just released her second novel, Kataraina. Where Auē burnt, Kataraina heals; a soothing, rinsing, complex novel.
Kataraina follows the eponymous character who is whāngai (aunty) to orphan Ārama, known as Ari and one of the narrators in Auē. This book acts as both sequel and prequel; one needn’t read Auē to enjoy Kataraina, though their stories orbit each other in a tight dance.
