by Witi Ihimaera
Audio book read by George Henare
Reviewed by Lisa Warrington
However, I dutifully started listening to Bulibasha during a long car trip, and was quickly absorbed into the narrative. As it happens, there is a vivid scene near the beginning in which the Mahana family is driving home along a narrow dirt road, and accelerating past their mortal enemies. Listening to this while driving gave me a vicarious thrill, and encouraged my worst driver's instincts to the fore.
Bulibasha lends itself well to spoken narrative. It is a bit of a yarn by nature, anecdotal in form, as Simeon, the teenage narrator, spins the tale of the patriarch Bulibasha and his clan, and their long-term feud with the family of Rupene Poata. Shearers and sportsmen and women, they play out their fierce competition in scenes of women's hockey games, shearing contests and cultural competitions.
As a novel, it is stylish, funny, confident, truthful, slyly witty, and sometimes moving, especially in the unexpected turn of events that surrounds the marriage of Grandmother Ramona.
As a dramatic reading, it is very polished - Henare is right at home with the material, and easily draws the listener into the narrative. A quick comparison with the original indicates that it has been heavily abridged, and although this has been done expertly and seamlessly, there is a consequent and inevitable loss of richness and texture. Still, it remains lively and entertaining - just the thing for a long drive.