Dirt Poor Islanders
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Dirt Poor Islanders
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Narrated by:
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'Ana Ika
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By:
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Winnie Dunn
About this listen
For Meadow Reed, a half-Tongan, half-White girl, the world is bigger than the togetherness she has grown up in. Finding her way means pushing against the constraints of tradition, family and self until she becomes whole in her own right. Meadow is going to see that being a dirt poor Islander girl is more beautiful than she can even begin to imagine.
Dirt Poor Islanders is a potent, mesmerising novel that opens our eyes to the brutal fractures navigated when growing up between two cultures and the importance of understanding all the many pieces of yourself.
'a loving, yet challenging, portrait of the Tongan-Australian community . . . this is truly groundbreaking fiction' MELISSA LUCASHENKO, Miles Franklin winning author of Too Much Lip
'ferocious and tender . . . no one is spared and so much is revealed, including the complexity and power of being Tongan.' SHANKARI CHANDRAN, Miles Franklin winning author of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens
'A fresh and vital new voice. The language dances on the page and creates vibrant characters alive and dripping with life.' FAVEL PARRETT, Miles Franklin shortlisted author of Past the Shallows
'I couldn't put it down. I laughed and I cried and I could smell the food and picture the places. Groundbreaking. Powerful. Brilliant. Masterpiece.' SELA AHOSIVI-ATIOLA
'a perceptive, provocative and personal exploration of growing up in a multicultural family . . . Dirt Poor Islanders is an impressive piece of autobiographic fiction' Weekend Australian
'vibrant . . . Dunn is a lively writer with a laid back sense of humour and a sharp eye for detail. Dirt Poor Islanders blends cultural collision and coming of age, and expands a field of Australian fiction that went mainstream with Christos Tsiolkas' Loaded.' Sydney Morning Herald
'In a beautiful warts-and-all way, Dunn shines a light on her Tongan-Australian upbringing' Daily Telegraph
'Fearless' The Australian Women's Weekly
'Winnie Dunn brings a compelling narrative to life in her debut novel [and] invites readers to contemplate the intricacies of identity and the transformative power of self-discovery. Dirt Poor Islanders is more than a coming-of-age tale; it's a testament to the resilience and beauty found in the intersections of diverse cultural experiences.' National Indigenous Times
'In her pioneering novel portraying the Tongan community in Australia, Winnie Dunn skilfully crafts a rich landscape that captivates readers with its vivid depiction of everyday life' ArtsHub
'An impassioned response to dangerous and detrimental stereotypes . . . Not just a novel about what it means to grow up Tongan, but what it means to grow up as a Tongan woman' The Conversation
'Unlike anything you've ever read . . . Dirt Poor Islanders is an immersive, moving story of a complex and richly drawn family.' Readings©2024 Winnie Dunn (P)2024 Hachette Australia Audio
What listeners say about Dirt Poor Islanders
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 16-06-2024
Literary craft at its best
From alliteration to assonance to onomatopoeia to imagery to metaphor to much more, coupled with subtle literary and political references, this debut is a novel that makes “youse” feel at home in the first Tongan Australian representation on page published in so-called Aus and it makes “youse” think. It’s brilliantly crafted with a plot twist and all.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amanda Patton
- 12-06-2024
Brilliant writing
Such a lovely story, have travelled to Tonga, wish I had read this story first.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LK
- 18-08-2024
Bold yet sensitive.
I could feel and see the interiors that Dunn described and felt the emotions of the characters like an embodied spirit. Is that a cliché about good writing? I don’t know. I felt the difficulty, frustration and love of the characters, the joy and beauty of Tongan culture, the crush of Australian colonialism fused with the hope of broader opportunities and generational trauma. It’s all there, but it’s still hopeful and comforting.
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