$37.99
20 in stock
20 in stock
Muru is not revenge. Muru is about balance. You put your hands on one of theirs and they had every right to take from you and yours whatever they meant to take, short of a life.
Aotearoa in the 1940s, and the Maori men of Taranaki will not join the Maori battalion because they have lost too much already. Koko is the oldest man in the village, a legend who has lived through the land wars and imprisonment in Dunedin. They whisper of him as the Last Living Cannibal. Koko dotes on his grandson Blackie, and when Blackie is beaten at school, Koko takes up the fight.
But the ghosts of his past are never far away, and when they come calling, they come with muru in mind…
Richly set in Taranaki during the 1940s, The Last Living Cannibal is the epitome of a classic Aotearoa novel, from one of this generation’s most promising writers.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Imprint: Moa Press
Publication date: 30/09/2025
The Last Living Cannibal
By Airana Ngarewa
Review by Jo
Through the life (and afterlife) of a Taranaki elder, Koko, Ngarewa explores the history of colonization for Taranaki and Waikato iwi. He shows how that experience continues to shape the lives of descendants at other key moments in history – in this case, during WWII, when a group of Taranaki Māori refused to join the Māori battalion. Koko’s voice has so much dry humour and warmth and it was the strength of his perspective that made the novel so absorbing for me. The culture of the marae is also evoked strongly, especially the differing roles held by men and women. I would recommend this novel to anyone seeking deeper insight into Aotearoa’s history and I look forward to reading what Ngarewa writes next.
