Sia Figiel

Figiel uses the traditional Samoan storytelling form of su'ifefiloi to talk back to Western anthropological studies on Samoan women and culture. In doing so, she weaves an honest - and sometimes brutal - coming-of-age story that combines poetry with an unflinching humor to describe the abiguities of adolescent desire. Told in a series of linked episodes that recall the work of V.S. Naipaul and Sandra Cisneros, this powerful and highly original narrative follows thirteen-year-old Alofa Filiga as she navigates the mores and restrictions of her village, Malaefou, and comes to terms with her own womanhood and search for identity.

Where We Once Belonged

They Who Do Not Grieve

Centered around the woman's tattoo, the "malu", tells the story of three generations of women from two Samoan families touched by shame and grief over an uncompleted tattoo ceremony and echoed in illicit love and broken promises.

They who Do Not Grieve

Fiction. 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 su'ifefiloi to talk back to Western anthropological studies on Samoan women and culture. Told in a series of linked episodes, this powerful and highly original narrative follows thirteen-year-old Alofa Filiga as she navigates the mores and restrictions of her village and comes to terms with her own search for identity. A story of Samoan PUBERTY BLUES, in which Gauguin is dead but Elvis lives on -- Vogue Australia. A storytelling triumph -- Elle Australia.

Pōuliuli: Mauala‘ivao Albert Wendt

The Girl in the Moon Circle

Ten-year-old Samoana Pili describes life in her Samoan village through her dreams and poems, conversations and songs, stories and factual reporting.

Sia Figiel

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