Wild Pork and Watercress - Barry Crump

Published in an omnibus edition "The Essential Crump Collection" containing: "A Good Keen Man"; "Bastards I Have Met"; "Wild Pork and Watercress", by Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers Limited: Auckland, NZ, 2003.
Originally published 1986.

Although in his lifetime Barry Crump was probably most well-known for the books A Good Keen Man and Hang on a Minute, Mate, his later book Wild Pork and Watercress may now be his most successful work, if not recognised as such by many people. This is because it is the inspiration for Taika Waititi's movie Hunt for the Wilderpeople, the movie that helped launch the Kiwi Director's international popularity a few years before he made Thor: Ragnarok. 

Wild Pork and Watercress, like Hunt for the Wilderpeople, tells the story of Ricky Baker, an early teen Māori boy who is sent to live with his Aunty Bella and Uncle Hec on their remote farm. In the movie these terms are honorary, given by Bella to help Ricky settle in. In the book, Bella is Ricky's aunt, and therefore this family unit is an actual family. When tragedy strikes, Ricky and Hec take to the bush. The remainder of the story relates the adventures this duo face while trying to avoid the authorities.

Barry Crump is a story teller. A 'yarn teller', as I mentioned in my review to another of his books. Yarns unfold gradually and episodically, and Wild Pork and Watercress is no exception to this. It might be slightly less so than most of Crump's books due to the set up, but it is still true none-the-less. So the book isn't a high-speed action-packed read. It is interesting, however, and very (rurally and traditionally) Kiwi. Most of the beats from the movie do have inspiration in the book (including a toned down version of Rhys Darby's character 'Psycho Sam', here named 'Quiet Brian'), although the 'villain' of the movie - social welfare worker Paula - is entirely a Waititi creation. The book and movie also differ greatly in the ending. Waititi's film escalates into an over-the-top action-movie chase scene, with helicopters, multiple cars and even a shoot-out! Meanwhile, Wild Pork ends on a note that was actually quite melancholic and even a bit tragic, using the perspective of a supporting character to recontextualize Ricky and Hec's adventures through a different set of eyes. Not what I was expecting it to end like, but actually quite effective!

In the end, if you are a fan of Barry Crump (or looking for a place to begin reading his work), this is a great place to begin. And if you are wanting to read a book that has inspired a Taiki Waititi novel, I recommend this one a lot more than the other one I've read.

Completed 30 July 2022.

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