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Inheritance

Pattrick, Jenny

  17 Reviews

This is a story of friendship, family and the influence of the past on the present. The appearance of a character from a previous novel Landings, establishes the setting of 1960's Samoa, a melting pot of approaching political independence, family tensions, and challenges to 'fa'asamoa', the traditional Samoan way. Moving between Samoa and 1990's New Zealand, the author considers the weight of cultural expectations and the possible conflict between truth and love. A book to relish, rich in cultural and historical detail. [Larger font]

This title is also offered as part of the Narrative Muse Book Club.

Comments from Groups

Enjoyed by all, interesting to read about the Samoan culture plus the history of the islands. Auckland 58

A whodunnit with fragrance and warmth! Wellington 18

Generally agreed a great read. Jenny Pattrick has obviously done her research well and draws us in with her local knowledge of Samoan culture and language. Auckland 55

Another sterling read from the pen of this very engaging author. Masterton 10

Lively discussion covered many themes, cultural, secrets, family, generations, connections, life and its twists and turns. Wellington 130

The majority of the discussion group enjoyed 'Inheritance'; most scoring the book between 7-9/10. Members who had previously read 'The Landing' were able to identify more with the characters and their subsequent development in 'Inheritance'. Katikati 005

The book was enjoyed by some - the story-line and also the range of subjects it touched on. Those who didn't like it were not happy with the characterisation, and felt it was not well constructed. However, it generated a longer than usual discussion, so overall a good book for groups. Tauranga 016

Our group found the book enjoyable. Jenny Pattrick is good at teasing out historical facts and weaving them back into the narrative in a colourful and interesting way. The story had plenty of tension to hold the reader's interest. We felt we could almost feel the heat and humidity of Samoa, and almost smell the frangipani. Auckland 332

This book elicited great passion and dislike in our members. Her depiction of characters and her dialogue came in for the most criticism, with comments like 'cliched', 'unbelievable', and the dreaded 'Mills ands Boon!' We all agreed however that she can spin a rollicking tale, and excels in thorough historical research. We learned a lot about Samoa's past.... Raumati 001

All members of the group enjoyed the book very much. The strengths and weaknesses of the various characters made for interesting reading, and kept us all engrossed in the mystery unfolding. The background of the relationship between Samoa and NZ was an eye-opener for most of us - the bitterness felt by the islanders over the preceived treatment by the NZ government etc. We discussed the character of Jeanie and how powerless she appeared to be, but then she found the strength to break away from her husband's brutality. We also discussed how sometimes it is better to leave the truth hidden. Great discussion ensued from this book. Otorohanga 003

We all agreed that the book was good "story-telling" rather than a literary read, but we got caught up in the characters and wanted to know what happened next, so we were engaged. We thought the title was excellent, and explored some of the thoughts around 'inheritance' eg DNA, nature vs nurture etc. Auckland 335

Pages
313
Year
2010

Reviews

WELL 189
11-03-2024
The book was a little slow at the start, but overall most of us really enjoyed the read. Some of the cultural depictions/explanations of Samoan culture seemed a little 'academic', and the voice unauthentic from a non-Samoan writer. The descriptive writing was very visual - we could imagine this story as a Netflix series, filmed on the beautiful beaches of Samoa.
CHCH 537
04-12-2023
Generally an easy read, the cultural aspects were interesting but we found it slightly unconvincing.
CART 001
15-08-2023
A good read. We were pleased to have read 'Landings' previously. The parallels were intriguing.
WHAKA 021
11-08-2023
We all really enjoyed this book especially as we had read Jenny Pattrick's 'Landings', so it was nice to carry on from that book. Really alarming twist to the plot, but a great ending.
WELL 066
20-03-2023
This novel generated a lot of group discussion. Group members enjoyed and valued the cultural detail.
NELS 062
10-10-2022
The group found the book accessible and easy to read. Particularly enjoyed learning about Samoa and its culture.
NELS 076
22-04-2022
A mostly fun and interesting read with unexpected twists. The Samoa angle was new for most of us as well - and we enjoyed learning a bit about both the place and the culture. We thought the ending was fitting, too.
PALMN 002
23-11-2018
This month's book has been enjoyed by all the group members. Jenny Pattrick has created an impressive book in which she has succeeded in blending together different cultures, different ages and different experiences. The result is a fascinating story-line with a high point bringing the book to a suitable end.
WHANGA 001
23-11-2018
Jenny Pattrick is a great author. We all loved the structure she used in this book although it kept us on our toes. Her descriptions of Samoan life were extremely informative for this palagi audience. All in all a No. 10 read. It would have been good to have read 'The Landings' first - but not necessary.
OTAKI 001
23-11-2018
Full of intrigue - a great read.
NELS 061
23-11-2018
Some of us loved this book - others not so much! It was a good read on some of the history between NZ and Samoa.
TIMAR 007
23-11-2018
A mixed reaction to this book. We all enjoyed reading about Samoan culture and history, but we found the characterisation of the main characters was unconvincing. We all liked 'Denniston Rose' better.
WAIKA 001
23-11-2018
We all enjoyed this book. Jenny is a favourite author of many of our members, and most have read her other books. The plot was well developed and the characters were well defined. A good read.
AUCK 389
23-11-2018
The group enjoyed the book. An easy read but had some disturbing undertones. A lot of discussion around truth telling, and the consequences of pregnancy from rape. Several members had visited Samoa and could relate to all the places mentioned. New Zealand's colonial past was also discussed, and the poor decisions made resulting in unnecessary deaths from the flu epidemic.
CHCH 412
23-11-2018
'Inheritance' was enjoyed by everyone. Some had read 'Landings' and 'Denniston Rose' previously and understood the links carrying through; others hadn't but felt the book stood strongly on its own feet.
TEANA 001
23-11-2018
A really well crafted and interesting story, with a great sense of history and place.
CHCH 378
23-08-2018
Another wonderful Jenny Pattrick book. We loved this book and there was much discussion about the characters and the history. The descriptive nature of the writing took you to Samoa and we felt we were part of the plot.