Cowrie

by Cathie Dunsford

Cowrie travels to Hawai'i and as she circles the island in an old pick-up truck we discover the tokens of her heritage. Sensual and sexual language brings the earth to life, and Cowrie too as she tests the limits of her endurance and explores her erotic connection with the earth. Island life erupts through the descriptions and you can taste the tropical fruit, the fish cooked in banana leaves and coconut, and smell the sweet fresh ginger.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1875559280
• ISBN13: 9781875559282
• Release Date: July 1994
• Publisher: Spinifex Press
• Length: 123 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Looking for tribe

Cowrie travels from her native New Zealand to Punalu'u, Hawai'i to find her long lost family and to reconnect to her heritage. She also finds herself attracted to Koana, a mother with two children, and is confused about Koana's mixed signals. Cowrie weaves her life into her new extended family's and slowly investigates the imagery in her recurring dream of the sea turtle woman. A sudden tragedy clarifies relationships, and Cowrie finds herself changed and connected to not only this new family, but also to her expanded heritage. Dunsford's poetic language and intense imagery of both Hawai'ian and Maori peoples makes "Cowrie" a joyous journey in the lush landscape of Hawai'i.

crucial novel

Cowrie is a crucial novel, testing the nature of identity on personal, cultural and global levels. - Audre Lorde