Dirt Poor Islanders Audiobook

Islanders must do everything together We painted ngatu together We crossed the ocean together We settled on isles together We lived with generations upon generations stacked in fibro houses together We became halfWhite together We stayed poor together Together Together Together

For Meadow Reed a halfTongan halfWhite girl the world is bigger than the togetherness she has grown up in Finding her way means pushing against the constraints of tradition family and self until she becomes whole in her own right Meadow is going to see that being a dirt poor Islander girl is more beautiful than she can even begin to imagine

Dirt Poor Islanders is a potent mesmerising novel that opens our eyes to the brutal fractures navigated when growing up between two cultures and the importance of understanding all the many pieces of yourself

a loving yet challenging portrait of the TonganAustralian community this is truly groundbreaking fiction MELISSA LUCASHENKO Miles Franklin winning author of Too Much Lip

ferocious and tender no one is spared and so much is revealed including the complexity and power of being Tongan SHANKARI CHANDRAN Miles Franklin winning author of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens

A fresh and vital new voice The language dances on the page and creates vibrant characters alive and dripping with life FAVEL PARRETT Miles Franklin shortlisted author of Past the Shallows

I couldnt put it down I laughed and I cried and I could smell the food and picture the places Groundbreaking Powerful Brilliant Masterpiece SELA AHOSIVIATIOLA

a perceptive provocative and personal exploration of growing up in a multicultural family Dirt Poor Islanders is an impressive piece of autobiographic fiction Weekend Australian

vibrant Dunn is a lively writer with a laid back sense of humour and a sharp eye for detail Dirt Poor Islanders blends cultural collision and coming of age and expands a field of Australian fiction that went mainstream with Christos Tsiolkas Loaded Sydney Morning Herald

In a beautiful wartsandall way Dunn shines a light on her TonganAustralian upbringing Daily Telegraph

Fearless The Australian Womens Weekly

Winnie Dunn brings a compelling narrative to life in her debut novel and invites readers to contemplate the intricacies of identity and the transformative power of selfdiscovery Dirt Poor Islanders is more than a comingofage tale its a testament to the resilience and beauty found in the intersections of diverse cultural experiences National Indigenous Times

In her pioneering novel portraying the Tongan community in Australia Winnie Dunn skilfully crafts a rich landscape that captivates readers with its vivid depiction of everyday life ArtsHub

An impassioned response to dangerous and detrimental stereotypes Not just a novel about what it means to grow up Tongan but what it means to grow up as a Tongan woman The Conversation

Unlike anything youve ever read Dirt Poor Islanders is an immersive moving story of a complex and richly drawn family Readings