Kataraina

Becky Manawatu

‘Kataraina is a refined and evocative novel written with such hospitable, attentive delicacy, steeped in the natural world … Manawatu’s writing is as intensely beautiful as it is diamond hard.’

Kiran Dass, The Spinoff

‘The dialogue is outstanding. You can hear these people walking around the pages, too … There are numerous times when Manawatu ramps up the volume and intensity of her prose, electrifies it. Kataraina is the work of a major writer who could have stuck with a single storyline to create a major novel but had other things on her Mind.’

Steve Braunias, Newsroom

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Kataraina is less plot-driven than Aue, but has more structural and narrative depth. The two books are intrinsically intertwined in a way that strengthens them both … Kataraina gets under the hood of the culture of domestic violence, and lays it bare. This is all achieved with an ethereal vibe that seems like it ought to be incongruous with what Kat endures, but still works very well.’

Lauren Keenan, Newsroom

‘Manawatu’s second novel solidifies her powerful voice and astute observational prowess.’

Denizen

‘It's billed as a sequel, but it’s not a straightforward continuation of the narrative. Rather, the action moves across both time and space – to moments before, during and after the events of its predecessor … Kataraina is a rewarding novel that I feel will continue to reveal itself. It also ends with laughter – a ‘cool-water laughter’ – which feels like a well-deserved ending to a saga wrought with so much tragedy.’

Jordan Tricklebank, Maori Literature Blog

‘Kataraina is breathtaking, swirling around a repeating incident, given form by the collective memories of members of the Te Au family … Kataraina is extremely tense in places, with its constant threat of violence, but it is also full of the love and support people, and the land, can extend … The novel has a chaotic structure that is easily navigable, with its strong recurring themes.’

Alysontheblog

‘The narrative is confident and assured in its structure … Throughout the book, a third person perspective allows for a chorus of whanau, past and present, to tell their story … The natural environment cradles the narrative and our characters as Manawatu’s effortless figurative language is intertwined with the languages of science: lush ecology, resources and knowledge sits in the deep fabric of the environment.’

Jenna Todd, The Spinoff

The much-awaited follow-up to the award-winning international bestseller Aue.

In Aue, eight-year-old Arama was taken by his brother, Taukiri, to live with Kat and Stu at the farm in Kaikoura, setting in motion the ensuing tragedy, which resulted in Stu’s death. Aunty Kat was at the centre of events, but, silenced by abuse, her voice was absent from the story.

In Kataraina, Kat and her whanau take over the telling. As one, the famiily recounts her childhood and the time when she first began to feel the greenness of the swamp in her veins — the swamp that holds her tears and the tears of generations of tipuna; the swamp on the land owned by Stu that has been growing since the day he was killed.

Unflinching in its portrayal of intergenerational trauma and violence, tender in its harnessing of the hope that future generations represent, Kataraina is a stunning novel that confirms Becky Manawatu as one of the most talented and powerful writers working in Aotearoa/New Zealand today.

Kiran Dass, The Spinoff

Steve Braunias, Newsroom

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Lauren Keenan, Newsroom

‘Manawatu’s second novel solidifies her powerful voice and astute observational prowess.’

Denizen

Jordan Tricklebank, Maori Literature Blog

Alysontheblog

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Details

Format:Paperback

Size: 234mm × 153mm

Extent:288pp

ISBN (13):9781761381454

RRP:$35.00

Pub date:29 Apr 2025

Rights Held: World (ex. NZ)

High-res cover:Download Image

AWARDS

2025 New Zealand Book Awards for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction - Long-listed

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AUTHOR

Becky Manawatu

Becky Manawatu (Ngai Tahu, Ngati Mamoe, Waitaha) is a West Coast author and journalist. She was born in Nelson and grew up in Waimangaroa, living now in Westport with her family. Her debut novel, Aue, won Aotearoa’s leading fiction prizes and became one of the country’s all-time fiction bestsellers.