Where We Once Belonged

<p>A bestseller in New Zealand and winner of the prestigious Commonwealth Prize, Sia Figiel's debut marks the first time a novel by a Samoan woman has been published in the United States. Figiel uses the traditional Samoan storytelling form of <I>su'ifefiloi</I> to talk back to Western anthropological studies of Samoan women and culture. Told in a series of linked episodes, this powerful and highly original narrative follows 13-year-old Alofa Filiga as she navigates the mores and restrictions of her village and comes to terms with her own search for identity.<br>”A story of Samoan puberty blues, in which Gauguin is dead but Elvis lives on.” –<I>Vogue Australia</I><br>”A storytelling triumph.” –<I>Elle Australia</I></p>