Season of the Jew
Encyclopedia
Season of the Jew is an historical novel by Maurice Shadbolt
, published in 1987. Set in mid-nineteenth century New Zealand
it is a semi-fictionalized account of the story of the Māori leader Te Kooti
, told from the perspective of one of his pursuers, an officer in the colonial army.
: “If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his suffrance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute; and it shall go hard, but I will better the instruction.” This lays the moral ground for the resistance of the band of New Zealand natives under their leader Te Kooti, who synthesized a new religion from Christian and Māori traditions combined with his study of the Old Testament
. His unique contribution was to declare his followers the latter-day embodiment of the Israelites escaping from Egypt. In the novel the rebels are often simply referred to as “the Jews.” The religion Te Kooti created, the Ringatu
Church, still claims around 15,000 adherents in New Zealand today.
during the year beginning November 10, 1868, the narrative coalesces around the development of its protagonist, George Fairweather, who in Shadbolt’s historical epilogue is described as “A composite character ... yet still far from fictional.” Fairweather is a competent but cynical former British officer in his early forties, who leaves the service under a cloud, turns landscape painter and cultivates an air of worldly detachment. Yet he finds himself drawn by love and humanity back into the world of colonial New Zealand and the maelstrom of the Māori Wars, not altogether disagreeably, as he finds to his surprise.
Pursuing Te Kooti as an officer and commander in the colonial militia, while perfecting his ability to destroy Te Kooti’s rebellious “Jews” Fairweather paradoxically finds his feelings of humanity expanding to include Englishmen, colonials and Māoris, coupled with a growing resentment of racism and injustice. In the end he almost throws his future away by struggling to save a Māori boy, Hamiora (reminiscent of Melville’s Billy Budd), unjustly charged with treason.
With the hanging of Hamiora, November 10, 1869, and the conclusion of Fairweather’s desperate attempts first to prevent and then to mitigate it, the book ends. The problem of Te Kooti is not resolved, except in the brief epilogue, further revealing the depths of Fairweather’s (and Shadbolt’s) ambivalence about the historical figure of Te Kooti, Fairweather’s hated and admired nemesis and one-time friend.
If the dramatis personae of Season of the Jew often seem to speak in tones above their station, one can suspend disbelief in consideration of the extreme pleasure afforded by their mutual intercourse. While this reviewer is not qualified to assess
New Zealander Shadbolt’s representation of 19th-century Māori culture, it has the ring of authenticity. The evocation of the early days in New Zealand is better than a time machine since you do not have to worry about the return trip (or your luggage). If the
author has an axe to grind, it is with the misuse and abuse of authority by lawyers and politicians, as opposed to, say, soldiers and warriors, who may experience conflicting feelings but are honorably murderous.
Shadbolt often has a way of seeming to say one thing and then coming back at you with something totally unexpected. The sarcasm and irony are delicious, at times even explosively humorous. In spite of the candid language and depictions of guerilla war and gory violence, the book feels more like a 19th-century classic along the lines of Melville and Conrad than a modern blood-and-guts thriller, although it serves quite well in the latter capacity.
.
Maurice Shadbolt
Maurice Francis Richard Shadbolt CBE was a New Zealand writer and playwright. He was born in Auckland, and educated at Te Kuiti High School, Avondale College and Auckland University College...
, published in 1987. Set in mid-nineteenth century New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
it is a semi-fictionalized account of the story of the Māori leader Te Kooti
Te Kooti
Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki was a Māori leader, the founder of the Ringatu religion and guerrilla.While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to the Chatham Islands without trial along with captured Hauhau, he experienced visions and...
, told from the perspective of one of his pursuers, an officer in the colonial army.
Explanation of the title
The brief preface quotes Shakespeare’s ShylockShylock
Shylock is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.-In the play:In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a pound of Antonio's flesh...
: “If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his suffrance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute; and it shall go hard, but I will better the instruction.” This lays the moral ground for the resistance of the band of New Zealand natives under their leader Te Kooti, who synthesized a new religion from Christian and Māori traditions combined with his study of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
. His unique contribution was to declare his followers the latter-day embodiment of the Israelites escaping from Egypt. In the novel the rebels are often simply referred to as “the Jews.” The religion Te Kooti created, the Ringatu
Ringatu
The Ringatū church was founded in 1868 by Te Kooti Rikirangi. The symbol for the movement is an upraised hand, or "Ringa Tū" in Māori.Te Kooti was one of a number of Māori detained at the Chatham Islands without trial in relation to the East Coast disturbances of the 1860s...
Church, still claims around 15,000 adherents in New Zealand today.
Plot summary
In this story of New Zealand and Te Kooti's WarTe Kooti's War
Te Kooti's War was one of the New Zealand Wars, the series of conflicts fought between 1845 and 1872 between the Māori and the colonizing European settlers, often referred to as Pākehā. This particular conflict covered most of the East Cape region and the centre of the North Island of New Zealand...
during the year beginning November 10, 1868, the narrative coalesces around the development of its protagonist, George Fairweather, who in Shadbolt’s historical epilogue is described as “A composite character ... yet still far from fictional.” Fairweather is a competent but cynical former British officer in his early forties, who leaves the service under a cloud, turns landscape painter and cultivates an air of worldly detachment. Yet he finds himself drawn by love and humanity back into the world of colonial New Zealand and the maelstrom of the Māori Wars, not altogether disagreeably, as he finds to his surprise.
Pursuing Te Kooti as an officer and commander in the colonial militia, while perfecting his ability to destroy Te Kooti’s rebellious “Jews” Fairweather paradoxically finds his feelings of humanity expanding to include Englishmen, colonials and Māoris, coupled with a growing resentment of racism and injustice. In the end he almost throws his future away by struggling to save a Māori boy, Hamiora (reminiscent of Melville’s Billy Budd), unjustly charged with treason.
With the hanging of Hamiora, November 10, 1869, and the conclusion of Fairweather’s desperate attempts first to prevent and then to mitigate it, the book ends. The problem of Te Kooti is not resolved, except in the brief epilogue, further revealing the depths of Fairweather’s (and Shadbolt’s) ambivalence about the historical figure of Te Kooti, Fairweather’s hated and admired nemesis and one-time friend.
Literary qualities
The story is moving and poignant; the adventure/action sequences exciting and gripping. Shadbolt’s depictions of people and terrain are absorbing, colorful and convincing. There is also a bounty of inside-New Zealand information and tantalizing tidbits of Māori culture such as the ribald provenance of the name of Urewera National Park. However, the outstanding feature of Season of the Jew is the rapid-fire staccato dialogue that pervades and ornaments the book. Shadbolt’s economy of expression makes for laconic but witty double-entendres and is one of the joys of this novel. Through the reader's mental effort of hearing that which is not quite spoken and supplying the want thereof Shadbolt involves us most intimately in the dialogue.If the dramatis personae of Season of the Jew often seem to speak in tones above their station, one can suspend disbelief in consideration of the extreme pleasure afforded by their mutual intercourse. While this reviewer is not qualified to assess
New Zealander Shadbolt’s representation of 19th-century Māori culture, it has the ring of authenticity. The evocation of the early days in New Zealand is better than a time machine since you do not have to worry about the return trip (or your luggage). If the
author has an axe to grind, it is with the misuse and abuse of authority by lawyers and politicians, as opposed to, say, soldiers and warriors, who may experience conflicting feelings but are honorably murderous.
Shadbolt often has a way of seeming to say one thing and then coming back at you with something totally unexpected. The sarcasm and irony are delicious, at times even explosively humorous. In spite of the candid language and depictions of guerilla war and gory violence, the book feels more like a 19th-century classic along the lines of Melville and Conrad than a modern blood-and-guts thriller, although it serves quite well in the latter capacity.
Awards and nominations
In 1987, the book received the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Award, a now-defunct national New Zealand book award, and forerunner of the current Montana New Zealand Book AwardsMontana New Zealand Book Awards
The New Zealand Post Book Awards are a series of literary awards to works of New Zealand citizens. They were created in 1996, as a merge of the two previously most relevant awards in New Zealand: the Montana Book Awards and the New Zealand Book Awards...
.