Novel · A way to begin
The Alternative
John Saunana · 1980
Synopsis
Maduru, a boy from a village in the Solomons, enters the British-run secondary school, the only one in the country, in the sixties. Intelligent but restive, he refuses to wear a dress for the Christmas celebration and to apologise for it, and stands up to his mother and his dormitory mates. Between village life and the colonial school, he experiences the discrimination the Europeans inflict on Solomon Islanders, and leads pupils against a teacher and the headmaster's authority.
Context
The novel, a volume of one hundred and eight pages, was published in 1980 by the University of the South Pacific's Solomon Islands Centre, two years after independence. It is regarded as the first novel published by a Solomon Islander, and a large part of it is autobiographical. Saunana had previously published three books of poems, including a collection of songs and incantations translated from Arosi in 1972, before entering politics.
Who it is for
A short coming-of-age novel, in English, without difficulty; a few pointers on the end of colonisation help in reading it.
Prizes and reception
Presented by its publisher as the first novel of the Solomon Islands, it makes its author one of the most accomplished writers of the country.
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