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A review by anya_reading
Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel
3.0
I came into this book expecting violence, based on anonymous review, and I would say that violence factors heavily into this book. A lot of emotion factors heavily into this book: sadness, pleasure, pain. We follow a young girl as she grows up in Western Samoa, interacting with friends, family, boys, gods. Through the bits and pieces we read, the mosaic of a world comes to life.
I'm not sure if I got this correct, but throughout the novel, the main character, Alofa, is always part of a group, part of a "we" - traveling with friends, spending time with family (however fraught), always challenged by her groups to do what they want. As the book moves on to its conclusion, something in Alofa changes. I'm not sure if it's her continuing education, being kicked out to live with her aunt (does this actually happen?), or her self-defense mechanisms finally taking the forefront, but she begins to assert her will on the world by choosing to be an "I." I was a little sad to see that change happen at the end of the book with no more updates for her, but it still left a lingering wistfulness.
One caveat that lessened my enjoyment of the book was that there were many small phrases and words that were not found in the glossary - I'm sure that was an intentional choice of the author. One has to think of who this book might be written for, and sometimes the translation of a phrase doesn't do it justice. Moreover, I think the author may have left a lot untranslated to pique others' curiosity of the language (I looked up a YouTube video to see how some of the words were pronounced), or to parallel the main character's little knowledge of English (we also feel confused and lost at times, if we do not speak the language).
While this is one story, and one story does not define an entire culture, I appreciate how the author's immersive storytelling illuminated a part of Samoa for me.
I'm not sure if I got this correct, but throughout the novel, the main character, Alofa, is always part of a group, part of a "we" - traveling with friends, spending time with family (however fraught), always challenged by her groups to do what they want. As the book moves on to its conclusion, something in Alofa changes. I'm not sure if it's her continuing education, being kicked out to live with her aunt (does this actually happen?), or her self-defense mechanisms finally taking the forefront, but she begins to assert her will on the world by choosing to be an "I." I was a little sad to see that change happen at the end of the book with no more updates for her, but it still left a lingering wistfulness.
One caveat that lessened my enjoyment of the book was that there were many small phrases and words that were not found in the glossary - I'm sure that was an intentional choice of the author. One has to think of who this book might be written for, and sometimes the translation of a phrase doesn't do it justice. Moreover, I think the author may have left a lot untranslated to pique others' curiosity of the language (I looked up a YouTube video to see how some of the words were pronounced), or to parallel the main character's little knowledge of English (we also feel confused and lost at times, if we do not speak the language).
While this is one story, and one story does not define an entire culture, I appreciate how the author's immersive storytelling illuminated a part of Samoa for me.