The Pōrangi Boy - Shilo Kino

Published by Huia Publishers: Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, 2021 (2020).

Niko Te Kainga-mataa lives in the small town of Pohe Bay, a predominantly Māori community where the New Zealand government is planning to build a prison. Niko's grandfather, Tangaroa, is opposed to the prison, saying that it is going to be built on Māori land that is being watched over by the taniwha Taukere. Unfortunately, Tangaroa is known as the "pōrangi man" (crazy man), and throughout the book we see that he has lost some of his mental faculties - even to the point of urinating on people. As his grandson, and as someone who also wants to stand up against the prison being built, Niko too is labelled as pōrangi. Through the book, Niko has to wrestle with his own beliefs regarding Taukere, as well as learning to take a stronger leadership role in the community, particularly in the area of protesting the prison.

Being written by a Māori author, Shilo Kino, The Pōrangi Boy has a very authentic Māori feel to it, with a lot of the speech mannerisms of 'stereotypical' Māori speakers coming through regularly, as well as a lot of untranslated Māori words and phrases. It is interesting to see a contemporary book written with in this style, and in that way the book is successful, and interesting. 

Pōrangi Boy is also Kino's first novel, and at times that shows, particularly in the structure. Kino has chosen to have alternate chapters based 'before' and 'after' a particular mysterious incident, and although this can work, I feel like a more experienced author could have tightened up how information is parcelled out between those time frames. Certain decisions made by particular characters are also left unexplained, when they could use a little more clarity - though of course these may all be intentional decisions. 

I also personally didn't enjoy the level of urinating on one another and references to 'willies' that took place, although these at least made sense within the plot.

Some good themes, a good contemporary Māori voice, and some room for improvement. Despite some reservations it is still decent overall, and I would be interested to see what Kino comes up with next.

Completed 2 February 2022.



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