Set during WWII, Sonny Wirima joins the Māori Battalion wanting to do his best to help rid the world of German Nazis. But when he is caught behind enemy lines after the Battle of Mount Olympus in Greece, Sonny has only his training, instincts, and traditional beliefs to help guide him.
In a dual story, back in Aotearoa, his family and fiancée are mistakenly informed that Sonny has died, but his fiancée refuses to believe it is true. But as time passes, pressure comes on her to marry another.
Thankfully Sonny gets help from Greek people, and he manages to reach Crete by sailing boat. There he joins a resistance group high up in the White Mountains, and his days are spent fighting the enemy, although he yearns to be reunited with his battalion, and to one day journey home.
It is obvious that author Kayleen M Hazlehurst has done an enormous amount of research to write Who Disturbs the Kūkupa? her second historical novel. It’s a powerful and moving fictional account of members of the Māori Battalion and their loved ones, longing and waiting for news of them. A must-read for anyone interested in this period of history, with a storyline that goes from New Zealand to the war being fought in Europe and back home again.
Reviewer: Karen McMillan
Blue Dragonfly Press