Details

Whaea Blue is a fierce, lyrical, and deeply original memoir by Talia Marshall, weaving together whakapapa, memory, grief, humour, and identity through a road trip across Aotearoa in a series of aging European cars.

As Polly, Wiki, and the kuia ride atop a battered Toyota Corona, Marshall journeys through landscapes both physical and spiritual — meeting ghosts, ancestors, lovers, and fragments of herself along the way. Time folds in on itself as she moves between past and present, tracing the lives of tipuna, whanau, and the men who shaped her story, from fathers and grandfathers to Kupe himself.

Yet at the heart of Whaea Blue are the wahine who carry her forward. Through sharp honesty and haunting prose, Marshall explores intergenerational trauma, colonial histories, loss, survival, and the elasticity of identity. Rich with Maori storytelling traditions, dark humour, and emotional intensity, the memoir becomes both a karanga to the past and a search for peace.

Wild, tender, devastating, and unforgettable, Whaea Blue marks the arrival of a remarkable new literary voice in Aotearoa.

Key Features:
• Powerful memoir blending whakapapa, history, memory, and fiction-like storytelling
• Explores Maori identity, intergenerational trauma, grief, and resilience
• Richly layered with ancestors, ghosts, humour, and road-trip imagery
• Acclaimed for its fearless, lyrical, and original prose
• A striking contemporary work of Maori literature

Product Details:
• Author: Talia Marshall
• Format: Soft Cover
• ISBN: 9781776920136

Disclaimer: COLOUR VARIATION – we try to ensure images match the actual product; slight variations may occur due to device colour settings.