Historian turns his hand to fiction

FIRST NOVEL: Dr Monty Soutar is close to completing his first fiction novel following major factual works on Maori in World War 1 and World War 2. It is titled Kawai. File picture

Historian and author Monty Soutar of Gisborne has turned his hand to writing fiction, in the first volume of a planned trilogy he says has been coming together well.

Dr Soutar has won acclaim for his non-fiction books Nga Tama Toa: Price of Citizenship: C Company 28 (Maori) Battalion 1939-1945 and Whiti! Whiti! Whiti! E! Maori in the First World War.

In a move to the other end of the literary spectrum, he started writing his first novel in March during the Covid-19 lockdown.

“It's called Kawai — a saga from the uttermost end of the Earth,” Dr Soutar said.

“Given it was my first foray into fiction I wasn't sure how my writing might be received.

“But last week I received news that Copyright Licensing New Zealand was awarding me one of their Contestable Fund Grants 2020, which are for projects that had clearly defined and measurable outcomes that align with the fund's objectives. I'm thrilled about it.”

Dr Soutar describes Kawai as an epic historical fiction/adventure trilogy based primarily on real events featuring the experiences of nine successive Maori generations in pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial Aotearoa (1728 to 2018).

“As a historian I've found fiction more difficult to construct because I'm so used to relying on facts.

“I struggled at first with making something up, when I didn't know what happened in a particular situation, especially given the first novel starts a generation before Captain Cook arrived.

“But I'm used to it now.

“Showing instead of telling in order to make the reader part of the experience was another challenge,” Dr Soutar said.

“In my application to Copyright Licensing I pointed to the New Zealand school curriculum, which is resetting a national framework from 2022 . . . in the hope that students will become more aware of key aspects of Aotearoa New Zealand history and how these have influenced and shaped the nation.

“Most historical writing about Aotearoa New Zealand, I argued, has adopted a Eurocentric point of view, even when writers have delved into periods where that point of view was not the norm.

“In this trilogy the experiences of the key protagonists are presented from the viewpoint of Maori.”

Dr Soutar has nearly come to the end of the first novel in his series and expects it will be on bookshelves early next year.

“I have already been offered contracts from two publishers for it, so again, I'm well pleased with progress.”