This study brings together three closely related aspects of Maori literature - myth memory and
identity. It examines selected novels by Witi Ihimaera and Patricia Grace in order to trace an
ever-developing Maori identity that has changed considerably over three decades of the Maori
novel. This book demonstrates that an investigation of the construction of identity in
literature benefits from a close look at the importance of Maori mythology as well as
associated cultural and individual memories. Indicating that Maori fiction has become what Homi
Bhabha terms a third space this book verifies the links between novel myth and memory with
the help of existing research in these areas in order to assess their importance for the
reinterpretation of identity. The Maori novels that depict situations reflecting current issues
are viewed as an experimental playground in which authors can explore a variety of solutions to
tribal societal and political issues. This study establishes the early novels as
reinterpretations of the past and guides to the future and characterises the more recent
novels as representing a move towards empowerment and pioneering that has not yet come to a
conclusion.
