Frangipani (Célestine Vaite)

I discovered Célestine Vaite’s Web site a while back, but never found the time to read her novels. This one is the first published in the US. After I finished it, I realized the first book I checked out from the library, Breadfruit, was actually written before this one. But I read Frangipani first based on its publication year in the US. Fine! I loved it just the same, and it made me want to read Breadfruit even more.

Célestine Vaite writes in English, even though she is French. “Later on, as a migrant to Australia, books once again stepped in to help me confidently master a language that was not my own. And now I write in this language.” So some sentences are mixed with French words, some with Tahitian words, some have a French structure, and some are word for word translation from French (“turning around the pot”), but it is fun (maybe because I know French).

The characters in this book were already introduced in Breadfruit, but it did not bother me. This book focuses on mother/daughter relationships. I found it very charming, sometimes moving, sometimes funny, and also interesting since it describes everyday life in Tahiti.

From her Web site

In Tahiti, some mothers say that daughters are a curse, others say they are a blessing.
Aue, teenagers! Materena is just about ready to throw her daughter Leilani into the street. 'It doesn't matter what I do,' she confides to Mama Teta. 'It's always the wrong thing. I'm going taravana!' And if that wasn't enough, now there's a boy on the horizon. Materena, champion professional cleaner of the Mahi family and the best listener in all of Tahiti, is usually the one solving the problems. Célestine Hitiura Vaite's irresistible follow-up to the much-loved Breadfruit is a book filled with wisdom, laughter and two of the stubbornest women you will ever meet. It's such a vibrant, colourful slice of Tahitian life you can almost smell the frangipani.

http://www.celestinevaite.com/

J’ai beaucoup aimé ce roman simple, tantôt émouvant, tantôt drôle. Il décrit la vie à Tahiti, et particulièrement les relations mère/fille. J’ai découvert Célestine Vaite par l’intermédiaire de son site Internet. J’ai trouvé étonnant qu’elle écrive en anglais, alors qu’elle est française. Et même si certaines structures sentent bien la Gauloise, l’anglais n’est pas trop déroutant. Mais c’est peut-être parce que je comprends le français.

Comments

[Jackie Brown]

COCO : Ne m'en parle pas. Je n'ai pas eu de galette cette année. Le titre de ce livre est une vraie torture.

[COCO]

J'ai cru voir une pub pour de la frangipane , c'est toujours la période des galettes .
Bye bye

[Nuku_Hive95]

Ça me donne envie de lire ses livres.