Breadfruit

I have read all three of her books, I love how she talks about real live on Tahiti and especially about the women and their challenges. Great read.

BREADFRUIT is one of two books thus far in a series written by Celestine Vaite, a Tahiti native, that centers on Materena Mahi and her family and friends on the island of Tahiti. FRANGIPANI introduced Materena to America; "the best listener in Tahiti" is warm and generous, a natural problem solver. This first novel took us from her early days with her man, Pito, and her three children to focus on her journey to find herself. It was the story of her search for her calling in life, ending with her daughter's entrance into college and Materena's budding new career as a talk show radio hostess. BREADFRUIT, which was originally published first, features nearly everyone from FRANGIPANI, but the plot focuses on Materena's desire to marry. Most Tahitians don't have a need to marry, but there are a few weddings here and there, and Materena is deep down envious when she sees those newlyweds speeding off in Mama Teta's wedding car. When Pito (in a drunken state) asks Materena to be his wife, she cannot contain herself. It's too good to be true (and it is). She begins planning and researching what she needs to get ready for her big wedding day. In between her planning, life goes on. As in FRANGIPANI, BREADFRUIT is a series of chapters that takes snippets of Materena's life with anecdotes and stories about various people in her family. The stories, told in a very casual, chatty manner --- as is Materena's way --- are funny, often hilarious and sometimes sentimental. There's the incident with the carpet that her cousin Lily was to give away to Materena, and Materena uses it to give her house a new look. (Unfortunately the carpet is a vibrant green.) There's the time when she is asked to appear in court because she and her children were caught trespassing on private property. (The reader finds out later that she was actually taking her kids swimming next to the airport, running across the runway because she felt it was safer to do that than cross a busy street). Then there is Materena's attempt to buy a new bed, and her visit with her mother to her grandmother's grave. They argue over where Materena will be buried --- next to her own mami or next to her husband (in another town). This is yet another charming novel by Celestine Vaite. She's the first native Tahitian to win the "Prix litteraire des etudiants" (for BREADFRUIT). Readers will get the feel of what it's like to live in a rural Tahitian village, where hardly anyone has a washing machine, many are unemployed, and it's the women who seem to rule with a heavy stick. Materena herself is a professional house cleaner, but she's proud of her children and what she does. Most of all, despite the problems they have, she loves her man Pito and would marry him in a heartbeat. Of course, she has her work cut out for her, trying to get Pito to own up to his original marriage proposal. --- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton [...]

Reviewed by April Sullivan for Reader Views (8/06) "Breadfruit" is the tale of Tahitian woman, mother, and professional cleaner Materena Mahi. It is the middle book in a trilogy about this heroine. The first book is "Frangipani" and the expected third will be "Tiare". In this book, Materena is proposed to by her man Pito after thirteen years and three children together. She does not take this drunken proposal too seriously, but it gets her thinking about marriage and how she would like to have a ring on her finger and a marriage certificate on the wall. Author Celestine Vaite writes knowingly about Tahitian people and their ways as only someone who has had personal experience could. She was born and grew up in Tahiti. She fell in love with an Australian surfer at age sixteen, whom she married and followed to Australia where they now live with their four children. The story follows Materena as she broods over the thought of a wedding in silence. This is not something she wants to put out on the "coconut radio", the local term for the gossip chain. In this small Tahitian village, Materena is constantly running into streams of cousins, aunts, and other friends and relatives. The book links all of the stories they remember and share as they pass each other on the street or visit in each other's homes. Vaite's writing style is simple and perfectly portrays the lifestyle of these Tahitian villagers. My favorite part is the cultural lesson you get in a fun way. She throws in native words and phrases among the English in a way that makes it possible to understand their meaning instantly. The names of the characters and Tahitian words are so different and sing-songy, I was tempted to read the book aloud to really get into the flow. "Breadfruit" was great as a stand alone book, but now that I know there are more I am eager to read the first and third starring Materena and her family. This funny and fast-paced love story was a wonderful summer read. As Materena would say, "Ah oui girlfriend, pick up a copy today!"

Celestine Vaite's Breadfruit is a reviewer's dream. An earthy mix of the literary, the romantic, and the eccentric, Breadfruit follows the love crisis of Materena Mahi. Materena and the father of her three children, Pito, have lived together on the island of Tahiti for fourteen years, but marriage has been nowhere on the horizon. One night, in a drunken stupor, Pito finally proposes to Materena. Materena is thrilled and wastes no time imagining her perfect wedding: pricing a chocolate cake and a wedding chauffeur and eyeing a luxurious new bed for a wedding gift. But after fourteen years is Pito what she really wants? And was he even truly proposing? Materena fantasizes about her perfect wedding, all the while wondering if she's just letting her heart overwhelm reality. Meanwhile, life on the island stops for no woman and daily dramas keep Materena busy. Cousin Giselle gives birth in a Mercedes, Materena's mother insists on talking to her dead grandmother for hours, and there are the free tiles Cousin Lily is giving away--not to mention the kids. Romance runs rampant throughout Vaite's novel, reinforcing what all women know--that love conquers all and family is the toughest job in the world. Vaite's novel is populated with quirky characters and tales--like the pink peg Materena's daughter wears to give her a more perfectly pointed nose. The short-short chapters that read like flash fiction emphasize the eccentric, free-flowing attitude of the narrative, and the novel's unusual structure, all allow Vaite to work in more fully developed characters and to play with the sense of time, following back stories where appropriate and the side characters' own romantic dilemmas (did I mention that romance runs rampant?). While Breadfruit's plot is familiar, its Tahitian setting is exotic and full of colorful language, legends and cultural idiosyncrasies that make the novel glow with a South Pacific charm and pragmatism. Armchair Interviews says: As the follow-up to her novel Frangipani, Vaite's Breadfruit is a laugh-out-loud, feel-good novel that combines heart, wisdom, and an approachable style that will leave readers anxious for the final installment of Materena's trilogy.