My second is
Leaves of the Banyan Tree by Albert Wendt. The book is set in Samoa and the author is a Samoan who later moved to New Zealand.
Goodreads,
Preview, 426 pages, 1979, Samoa & New Zealand
Quote:
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An epic spanning three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa, exploring on a grand scale such universal themes as greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge. Winner of the 1980 New Zealand Wattie Book of the Year Award, it is considered a classic work of Pacific literature.
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Since the Goodreads description is so sparse, I'll also include the top review. It contains some mild plotline spoilers, but not any more egregious than many run of the mill Goodreads or book jacket synopses.
Quote:
A fascinating insight into Samoa across three generations of a family. Set in 1900-1970ish, Tauilopepe is the central character. He is the headman of his aiga and wants to be the most powerful man in his village. He is seriously ambitious and as his fortunes rise, he moves further away from his culture to reward himself with a big house, a flushing toilet, whisky, and the ability to send his sons to Western schools.
This is a book about greed, misuse of power, the use of religion to influence people and the impact of "progress". It is a clever book as all the problems are caused by Samoans. The colonialists are there, profiteering, acting like royalty, disrespecting Samoan culture, abusing women and becoming drunkards. But they are a side show to the problems the Samoans caused themselves.
Tauilopepe's son Pepe and his relationship with Samoan culture was the most complex. Pepe respected the past and rebelled against "progress", his father's wealth and his father's failure to listen to his history.
A fascinating book.
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