The thorny issue of dealing with the contested past is very much with us at the moment, and colonised peoples all over the world are delving into their stories of the past with fresh perspectives. Most of what I’ve read has been from Australia’s Indigenous authors, but I’ve also read stories from countries in Africa and the Americas, and from Ireland and the Indian subcontinent.
Over all, honest storytelling about the past seems like a good thing to me — it tells a different truth to the truth that is in the history books and the documented record, enabling us to re-evaluate what we think we know. But along with truth which may lead to restitution and justice and healing, storytelling can also pass on resentment and anger and a desire for vengeance, from generation to generation. It can pass on negative stereotypes about the actors of the past, in unexpected ways. Honest storytelling is not always an unmitigated good. Sometimes, IMO, it is better to let the past rest.
Witi Ihimaera’s award-winning novel The Matriarch is an odyssey into New Zealand colonial history and its brutal wars, and it’s written in a way that was innovative for its time, blending fiction with Maori myths and with documented history. Contrary to my expectations, I did not enjoy reading it. Not because it’s confronting to read about unpalatable truths in any country’s history, but because I disagree profoundly with the way the author justifies violence.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/07/11/the-matriarch-the-mahana-family-1-by-witi-ih... ( )