In Ancestry Albert Wendt introduces us to a cast of characters who live life balanced between the Samoan and Palagi worlds. Andrea’s husband is surprised when she gets up early one Anzac Day to take their daughter and half-Palagi grandson to the dawn parade. Later that day Andrea tells him of a cryptic dream, in which people sing a karakia in Māori, English and Samoan. Meanwhile Laura is determined to fit in with her in-laws in Malie and Paula bonds with her older boyfriend’s 11-year-old through skateboarding. These short stories address themes of family, poverty, assimilation and cross-cultural relationships.
