Whitcoulls Recommends: Kawai: Tree of Nourishment and From Here to the Great Unknown

Kawai: Tree of Nourishment by Monty Soutar. 

This is the sequel to the book Kawai: For Such a Time as This which came out two years ago, and this new one is the second in a planned trilogy. The original book was set in mid 18th century New Zealand, and the new one picks up the story in the early 19th century, a couple of generations on. The main character this time is Hine-aute, granddaughter of Kaitanga who was the legendary warrior in the first book and the story is grounded in New Zealand’s history at that time – the coming of muskets, white people, disease and a new religion. It’s a riveting read, fully immersed in the history of those years and very much brought to life.

From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. 

Lisa Marie Presley had intended to write her memoir and recorded many hours of audio for the project but died before she was able to complete the book. Her daughter Riley Keough (Elvis’s granddaughter) has taken the tapes and written the book on behalf of her mother – it’s all told in the first person, using either her mother’s words or her own, and tells the story of what it was like to grow up at Graceland; of the incredibly close relationship Lisa Marie had with her father; of battling grief and demons for the rest of her life; her relationship with Danny Keough and her subsequent marriage to Michael Jackson – and much more. It’s another story about how you can have all the money in the world and still not be able to fix the things that need fixing. The book is an extraordinary labour of love and respect from Riley to her mother, with insight into what it was like to be part of the Elvis myth and legacy. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
EDB and it is time to talk books. And joining
me now is Joan mackenzie. Good morning, Good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
Hey.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Monte Suita has a sequel out to his book Cowi.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
Yes, Cowboi subtitled for such a time as this was
his first one came out two years ago, and now
he has a sequel which is called Cowi Tree of Nourishment,
which relates to Christianity, which becomes a theme in the book.
And I believe that this is the second and what's
likely to be a trilogy. And I've just got to
say that I love these books. I think he delivers

(00:45):
really immersive storytelling. The first one was a huge local bestseller,
was one of the most talked about novels actually in
twenty twenty three, and that was set in the mid
eighteenth century. Well, this new one picks it up a
generation later, starting from about eighteen eighteen. But the very
beginning of the book and the very end of the

(01:05):
book are about a young man. He's a student and
he's on a journey with his grand uncle and asking
questions about his descendants in the history of their people
and their tribe, about which this modern young man knows
absolutely nothing, And the grand uncle then begins the story
of what happened back in the day. And the lead

(01:28):
character in this second book is called Hinney, and her
family of Colosing was betrayal because her cousins murdered her father.
So there's lots of themes of revenge and vengeance. But
the way in which they lived started to change with
the arrival of white people, as we all know, so
colonialism began and brought with it muskets and disease, influenza,

(01:52):
and new religion, which of course was Christianity, and it
became very divisive for so many of the families and
the tribes because some people were converted to this new
religion and others were deeply skeptical. I don't know if
I've got time to read you a peace from the book,
but to me it simply encapsulated, so I'll do it quickly.
It says the decline of our people in numbers, health,

(02:13):
and manner is a bitter reality. I attribute these losses
to the darkness that has befallen our vital essence. Our
beliefs are shifting our habits are changing, and in the
process we've neglected to safeguard the sanctity of our life force.
It's very powerful, as I say, fantastic storytelling, and I
loved it.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yes, and he creates a beautiful sense of time and
place which I very much enjoyed it. Yes, he does
tell me about from here to the great and known.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
This is by Lisa Marie Presley, who of course famously
is Elvis's daughter, and her own daughter Riley Keo. Now
it came about because Lisa Marie wanted to write her
memoir and she recorded a lot of audio ready to
help her do that, but then died before she was
able to get the project done. And so her daughter, Riley,

(03:03):
who is a well known actress, on the project herself
and used her mother's tapes to put forward the story
that her mother had wanted to give the world. And
it's done all in the first person, but in two voices.
So she's cleverly used two different type scripts and one
for when it is Lesa Marie's story and one for

(03:24):
when Riley is adding some commentary or some insight into it.
And you know, this was a tragic life. She was
nine when Elvis died. She grew up in Graceland. Her
childhood was absolutely chaotic, but the one constant was her father, Elvis,
who clearly adored her. And when he died, and she
relives that moment and it was just awful. She then

(03:45):
had to go and live with her mother, who she detested,
and her teenage years were completely chaotic. She ended up
meeting Riley's dad, Danny Keo, married him, but eventually left
him for Michael Jackson married Michael, but then left that
marriage too because she said that Michael was very controlling
and he wanted her to have kids so that he

(04:06):
could have essentially take them away and look after them
and essentially cut you out of their lives. So it's
all terribly tragic, and she died very young. And reading
this book, you know there's a lot of money sloshing around,
clearly from inheritance and the estate, I guess, but you
get this strong insight that being famous and having so

(04:26):
much money doesn't mean that you can fix what needs fixing.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
Not at all.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
And it sounds like they've come up with a clever
solution to identifying the voices which are speaking.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
Yeah, they have, and it's very well done, very moving.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Thank you so much, Joan. Those two books Carwaii Tree
of Nourishment by Monte Suitor and also From Here to
the Great Unknown by Lessonry Presley and Riley Keo. We'll
talk next week, Joan.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
See then.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen
live to news Talks they'd be from nine am Sunday,
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