Why a Booktrail?
1640s onwards: A memoir of a two cultures and a marriage between them
Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All
What you need to know before your trail
A cross cultural marriage is only half of the story here as Christina Thompson not only chronicles the development of her relationship with her Maori husband but she explores everything that this means with the coming together of the two cultures – hers American and his so very fascinating to her.
At first she is fascinated with the Maori culture and romanticizes much of the images she has in her head. She thinks about the significance of these tow cultures coming together and looks at how both her background and the Maori one blends and compliments the other one.
An American woman in love with so much more than a Maori man.
Travel Guide
From a romantic notion to a more realistic one but always positive and respectful of the differences and challenges that a cross culture relationship can bring, this is a journey across New Zealand a part of its culture and people that is not often chronicled in this way – so unique and personal.
We had no idea of what it meant to be Maori and what it meant to be in a relationship with such a unique and different culture. One which few of us booktrailers certainly knew much about. The part about colonial exploitation was hard to think about.
It’s the relationship that is the journey here though as it mirrors the exploration of the Maori culture. The personal bits are not too intrusive yet convey a sense of a woman really getting to the heart of a culture she’s taken to her heart.
Ah the locations here are mapped out in the start of the book and illustrated throughout so you can read it like a journey of the best kind. The first line reads like a perfect way to take the journey –
“If you stick a hatpin in at Boston and drive it through the center of the earth, you come out very near the Bay of Islands.”
A linguistic journey too for it includes a Maori dictionary at the back. That’s if you get past the rather scary title!
Where Next?
