Once Were Warriors

by Alan Duff

Published 31 January 1985
This hard-hitting novel is frank and uncompromising in its portrayal of Maori urban New Zealand society, a world of frustration, resentment, and waste. Duff is fearless in his depiction of a part of his own society that he knows well. He tells a raw, powerful story in which everyone is a victim until the strength and vision of one woman transcends brutality and leads the way to a new alternative.