Collision (Joanna Orwin), Waitakere in Waitakere, Auckland for sale

No signatures.; 303 pages. New Zealand historical fiction."A fast-paced, exciting Young Adult / Adult historical novel about the disastrous collision of cultures that occurred in the Bay of Islands, when the two ships in French explorer Marion duFresne's expedition came ashore to find a replacement for a mast destroyed in a collision at sea. A source of fascination and fear for local Maori, who at first attempted to placate these godlike creatures, but became increasingly angered by their lack of respect for tribal values and traditions, the expedition blindly become authors of their own demise. Orwin skilfully reveals the ill-fated expedition's bitter end, after months of cohabitation, racheting up the tension with a clever use of a fictitious written Maori account of the events that has survived as a tribal artifact. European history has told one side of the story, and now through the device of a young sailor, who is adopted by one of the Rangatira vying for political and military dominance, Joanna Orwin weaves a fascination Maori counterpoint so that the inexplicable treachery becomes not only explicable but increasingly inevitable. Researched in depth with local sources, for the first time a key event in history is examined in a fresh and revealing way, bringing the tragic events to a breathtaking conclusion and casting a new light on the past through the narrative device of a skilled novelist."; 8vo
Author
Joanna Orwin
Title
Collision
Publisher name
HarperCollins (2009), Auckland
Shipping time
2 - 5 days
Publication year
2009
Edition
First edition
Binding type
Soft cover
Listing condition
Used
Item condition
Very good
Vendor name
Renaissance Books
Vendor rating
Abebof326d