Book Review: “Once Were Warriors” by Alan Duff
Håfa adai! May is Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in the United States. For the first two weeks of May 2025, I will post reviews for works of fiction written by Pacific Islander authors and depicting important experiences within Pacific Islander communities. My first selection of AAPI Heritage Month 2025 is Once Were Warriors, the first book of the Once Were Warriors Trilogy by Alan Duff.
This book review consists of two parts: a spoiler-free plot summary and my thoughts on the story. In the second part, I give my personal rating and break down the setting and worldbuilding, storytelling, cast of characters, and themes. There may be some lightweight spoilers—such as how characters interact with each other and the world around them—but I will not give away any major plot twists or endings. I want to share my opinions of the book and maybe encourage you to purchase a copy of your own.
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Spoiler-Free Plot Summary
Beth left her small town as a teenager to marry Jake Heke. Her parents disapproved, but she was in love and dreamed a life away from her more traditional Māori family. Many years later, the life Beth has turned into a nightmare. The family portrait of her, Jake, and their five children is on the brink of shattering. Does feeling lost and lacking on their own island—disconnected from their ancestors’ language and culture centuries after the arrival of English settler colonizers—keep them locked into harmful patterns? Will connecting the lives in the present to the traditions of the past give Beth the strength and resources to break the cycle of pain?
Important Trigger Warning for Once Were Warriors
Once Were Warriors heavily depicts domestic violence, substance abuse, explicit racism, sexual violence, and suicide. Chapter 7 centers the experience of a character being raped. Chapter 9 centers a character falling victim to suicide. These themes and scenes are essential to the plot, but always prioritize your mental health before engaging any work of fiction or non-fiction. If you do decide to read or listen to the audiobook of Once Were Warriors—and if these would cause you stress or distress in any way—then please make sure to take the necessary steps to prepare and protect yourself before and after consuming this story.
My Thoughts on Once Were Warriors: 4.5 stars
Alan Duff's debut novel Once Were Warriors is a classic of New Zealand literature and is the inspiration for the 1994 New Zealand film of the same name. Although this was my first time reading the book, I saw the film as an undergraduate student at the University of Guam over 10 years ago and have held a deep appreciation for this important story since. This novel is intense and emotional while providing a meaningful glimpse into many of the contemporary social issues faced by many Indigenous Pacific Islander families and communities.
Once Were Warriors follows the day-to-day life of the Beth Heke, Jake Heke, and their children, a Māori family living in the projects neighborhood of Pine Block in south Auckland, New Zealand, in 1990. Alan Duff employs a third-person limited perspective to explore the day-to-day experiences of several members of the Heke family. Although the chapters give some emphasis to Jake and the eldest three children, the narrative predominantly follows Beth Heke, the wife and mother of the family. The family’s heartbreaking journey from horrifying dysfunction to devastating fracture and hope for healing parallels Beth’s return journey home.
Alan Duff excels in drawing connections between multiple contentious broad themes. The five major themes that stood out to me include: (1) colonization, the loss of land, and disconnection from cultural heritage; (2) generational trauma; (3) the cycle of abuse; (4) twisted definitions of pride; and (5) reconnecting to heritage to facilitate healing. First, the arrival of European settlers to Aotearoa (the Māori name for New Zealand) in the 17th century directly created a cascade of colonization, Maori communities losing their land, and modern-day Māori becoming disconnected from their language and culture. For many Indigenous Pacific Islander communities today, the line from colonization to loss of cultural heritage is direct and bold. And Alan Duff does not hesitate to highlight that narrative.
Second, the result of centuries of colonization (regardless of geography or ethnic group) is most often generational trauma. In Once Were Warriors, Jake Heke’s greatest struggles are tied to his family’s history of being slaves on their own island. As a child, Jake was cruelly bullied and ridiculed by other Māori for descending from slaves, as if that somehow made him (as a child) a lesser human being than them. Now, Jake associates nearly all of his anger and frustration with the wealth and success of Pākehā families (descendants of European settler colonizers in Aotearoa). Instead of facing his trauma, he chooses to drown it in alcohol and violently lashes out at anyone who makes him feel less than in any way.
Third, both Beth and Jake’s maladaptive ways of coping with their personal and generational trauma does nothing more than repeat the cycle of abuse. On Jake’s part, he has an extremely violent temper that does not discriminate against the source of any perceived or imagined threat. On Beth’s part, she repeatedly excuses Jake’s behavior for years because she clings to the rare tender moments that they share, as long as they are initiated only by Jake. Although Jake does not cheat on Beth or turn his physical violence towards their children, he does not hide his violence against Beth from them, thus keeping them in close proximity to violence at nearly all times. The outcome of their children’s lives and the decisions that some of the repeatedly make (especially the two eldest boys) reflects the effects of their dysfunctional homelife.
Fourth, the different ways that Jake and Beth affirm their sense of belonging as modern-day Māori provide a startling contrast between a twisted definition of pride and pride rooted in ancestry. For Jake, pride stems from his physical stature and strength. No one will ever make Jake the man feel the way Jake the child was forced to feel, regardless of how innocuous or minor the offense Jake perceived to receive. For Beth, pride stems from her traditional Māori upbringing. Her sense of strength and integrity was greatly damaged throughout the course of her life with Jake, after years of living in isolation with him in the project neighborhood of Pine Block, devoid of traditional Māori language and culture.
Finally, the synthesis of the story highlights the empowering theme of reconnecting to your cultural heritage and language to facilitate healing the wounds of your personal past. For Beth, it becomes clear that she and her family cannot heal while they remain cut off from their traditional roots. But what if it’s too late for them? What if they have been separated from their ancestors’ way of living, believing, and communicating for too long? Beth can only do her best to heal the wounds of the past while paving a way into the future for her family and other Māori.
The overall rating I give to Alan Duff’s Once Were Warriors is 4.5 out of 5 stars. This classic of New Zealand literature gives a realistic and devastating glimpse into many of the contemporary social issues faced by Maori families. It shines an especially bright light on the effects of colonialism, disconnection from heritage, and generational trauma on the perpetuation of domestic violence, substance abuse, and assault, ensuring the repetition of the cycle of abuse. I would definitely recommend Once Were Warriors to as many people as possible. But, given the intense and graphic nature of its plot, understand that this story may not be for everyone.
Dångkulo' na' saina ma'åse'! Thank you so much for reading my review of Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff.
Rating Cheat Sheet
4.75 - 5.00 stars: Everyone should read this book! (If you’re into that sort of thing.)
4.00 - 4.50 stars: I appreciated many aspects of this book. I recommend it!
3.00 - 3.75 stars: I liked some aspects of this book. I won’t revisit it, but someone else might really like it.
2.00 - 2.75 stars: There were some things I appreciated about this book, but I do not recommend it.
0.25 - 1.75 stars: I do not recommend this book. I did not enjoy or appreciate the experience of it.
Post Date: 5 May 2025
Published: 1990
Publisher: Tandem Press
