Once Were Warriors Book

Once Were Warriors is Alan Duff's harrowing vision of his country's indigenous people two hundred years after the English conquest. In prose that is both raw and compelling, it tells the story of Beth Heke, a Maori woman struggling to keep her family from falling apart, despite the squalor and violence of the housing projects in which they live. Conveying both the rich textures of Maori tradition and the wounds left by its absence, Once Were Warriors is a masterpiece of unblinking realism, irresistible energy, and great sorrow.

Winner of the PEN Best First Book for Fiction Award and the basis for an internationally acclaimed feature film, Once Were Warriors is the author's harrowing vision of New Zealand's indigenous people as told through the story of one family. It conveys both the rich texture of Maori tradition and the wounds left by its absence. 2 cassettes.