Celestine Hitiura Vaite Frangipani

Frangipani

Celestine Hitiura Vaite

Back Bay, Feb 2006, $12.95

ISBN: 0316114669

On Tahiti, after a spat with her spouse Pito, cleaning woman Materena Mahi finds she is pregnant while her husband has run away. She debates what to do in the interim while she waits for Pito to come home which she assumes he inevitably will. Meanwhile she gives birth to the precious Leilani; over the next few years she trains her daughter on how to be a Tahitian, but is unable to provide her beloved child with answers to her western style questions.

Though she detests sending her daughter to the Catholic school as she sees her daughter as a blessing, Materena does because they can respond to Leilani's curiosity much better than she can. Her only stipulation to her cherished offspring is to insure that she does not make her into a grandmother before her fortieth birthday. However the spirited and intelligent Leilani falls in love anyway.

This is a fascinating family drama that provides a strong look at the culture of native Tahitians as much as the universality of love between a mother and a daughter. The story line focuses initially on Materena, but quickly switches to her relationship with her beloved Leilani. Fans of character studies (predominately two women) from a rarely seen locale will appreciate how the mom ignoring the local truism that daughters are curses raises a chip off the old block, a strong caring young woman.

Harriet Klausner