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  • Published: 27 May 2015
  • ISBN: 9780143572398
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $38.00

Chappy




A literary milestone: Patricia Grace's first novel in ten years.

Spanning several decades and several continents and set against the backdrop of a changing New Zealand, Chappy is a compelling story of enduring love.

Uprooted from his privileged European life and sent to New Zealand to sort himself out, twenty-one-year-old Daniel pieces together the history of his Māori family. As his relatives revisit their past, Daniel learns of a remarkable love story between his Māori grandmother Oriwia and his Japanese grandfather Chappy. The more Daniel hears about his deceased grandfather, the more intriguing – and elusive – Chappy becomes.

In this touching portrayal of family life, acclaimed writer Patricia Grace explores racial intolerance, cross-cultural conflicts and the universal desire to belong.

Also available as an eBook.

  • Published: 27 May 2015
  • ISBN: 9780143572398
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $38.00

About the author

Patricia Grace

Patricia Grace is one of New Zealand’s most prominent and celebrated Maori fiction authors and a figurehead of modern New Zealand literature. She garnered initial acclaim in the 1970s with her collection of short stories entitled Waiariki (1975) — the first published book by a Maori woman in New Zealand. She has published six novels and seven short story collections, as well as a number of books for children and a work of non-fiction. She won the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction for Potiki in 1987, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2001 with Dogside Story, which also won the 2001 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Fiction Prize. Her children’s story The Kuia and the Spider won the New Zealand Picture Book of the Year in 1982.

Also by Patricia Grace

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Praise for Chappy

Patricia Grace's first novel in 10 years deals with big issues - xenophobia, war,women's rights, poverty - but subtly and beautifully, so the overriding impression is of the endearingly flawed glory of lives.' - NZ Listener

PRH, PRH

Awards & recognition

Nga Kupu Ora Maori Book Awards

Awarded  •  2016  •  Nga Kupu Ora Award

International Dublin Literary Award

Longlisted  •  2017  •  Dublin Literary Award