THE BONE TREE by Airana Ngarewa

A wonderful New Zealand novel by an emerging Kiwi novellist.

I was recently recommended The Bone Tree by Māori author Airana Ngarewa while in Aotearoa recently, as it has been at number 1 on their local fiction bestseller list since its release a few months ago. I am so grateful to Ollie at Bound Books for the tip - it was a good one!

The Bone Tree tells the story of two brothers - Kauri and Black, whose mother left six months ago and their father is seriously ill. Dad is a violent acoholic and they live outside the city in a house falling down around them, with barely any food, running water or power.

Their story evolves as death takes hold of several around them, in several guises. Kauri starts going to the city to try to work out why their family has become what it has, to know where they come from. The story unfolds as people come into - and leave - their lives. In all of this, the race is on to save Black from being taken away by authorities.

This is Ngarewa’s debut novel and it is excellent. It is a slow burn - sometimes a little too slow - but it is worth it. The story starts to gather pace in the back 40% and although the foundations it is built upon are important, the lack of pace meant I had to push through at times. With that said, a a debut novel, this one is fantastic and I am really glad I stuck with it.

The inclusion of Māori language really gives this novel authenticity too - although I don’t understand all of that language, I was able to certainly guess what was said or meant. I think the use of local language gives this novel its distinctive storytelling - this is a story of two young men in New Zealand living a life that possesses no privilege. The connection to the natural elements was evident. There was no doubt to me that this story would not have worked without it

If you like novels about family and about culture, this one is well worth picking up. Ngarewa is establishing himself as an important new voice in New Zealand fiction and it’s easy to see why - The Bone Tree is a fantastic debut novel.