Season of the Jew: A Novel (A Nonpareil Book, #55) [Paperback]

Maurice Shadbolt (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Based on a gory series of skirmishes near Wellington between 1868 and 1869, this novel combines a knockout of a war story, a tour of as yet unexploited Maori country, an account of British imperialism and a portrait of native life and customs to create a vivid pageant of colonial New Zealand," praised PW . Illustrated.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Based on historical fact, this is a wonderful story of little-known events and characters in the dramatic 19th-century colonial history of New Zealand. Lieutenant George Fairweather, late of her Majesty's British Imperial Army, has resigned his commission and journeyed east to Poverty Bay, seeking new vistas to paint and hoping to resume his relationship with a half-caste Maori woman. Ever on the outside looking in, a man who shies away from permanent ties, Fairweather is enlisted in the defense of the colonists, against the rebel Kooti and his followers, who liken themselves to the Israelites cast out of Egypt, led by a new Moses. Tough and tragic, this novel powerfully explores some universal themes: the futility of war and the rights of the conqueror and the conquered. It deserves a wide audience. Highly recommended. Lydia Burruel Johnson, Mesa P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: David R Godine (April 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879237538
• ISBN-13: 978-0879237530
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #691,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Novel of Honor, March 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Season of the Jew (Hardcover)

I'm obsessed with Season of the Jew having read it 4 times in 6 years. George Fairweather, the Scottish soldier who "retired" from the British Army in New Zealand without enough money to return home,is one of the most honorably noble characters I've ever come across. I desperately wish I could give a 25 word "pitch" to a movie producer as this novel's values are much needed by today's society. What a grand movie it would make!!!The love story weaving throughout this book takes place between two level headed adults who are strong and self sufficient; no hang up's here. The choices for survival made by each at times are gut wrenching. I can say I felt intensely strong emotions; happiness, depression, anger, surprise. My heart welled in my throat several times. I was left with a grand respect for humanity, and most of all great admiration for the author, Maurice Shadbolt.

The first few chapters are difficult to follow, but, by the third you are hooked. Shadbolt's sense of irony is constant throughout his book. I loved how the dialogues took 180 degree turns; I never guessed what was next to come.

As mentioned by a previous reviewer, the Old Testatment provides reasons for imprisoned Maori's to fight for the right to pass peacefully through what used to be their land. Yet, when faced with this simple request, the British settlers set off a series of events leading to deception, disgrace, violence, death, and the beginnings of the most fascinating novel I've ever read. Hero's were made of simple men.

Season of the Jew is joyously satisfying. Shadbolt is a master with words; George Fairweather someone you'll really want to know.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Exotic, November 4, 1998

By 

Michael Goldstein (Trenton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Season of the Jew (Hardcover)

The novel is based on historical events in New Zealand, a Maori rebellion inspired by the Old Testament. The rebellion's leader casts himself as a latter day Moses bringing down righteous destruction on the English Caananites. The novel's protagonist, a retired English officer, turned landscape painter, finds himself a leader of the defense forces arrayed against the rebellion, despite feeling more empathy for the rebels than his European allies.

A complex, literate novel with unforgettable characters, beautifully etched descriptions, and a suspenseful story-line. I'd rank it among the very best novels I've ever read. If you have any interest at all in New Zealand it's a must-read.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating history, but too many witty rejoinders, December 27, 1999

By 

"nicbirns2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Season of the Jew (Hardcover)

This is a serious, well-intentioned work. This book's historical detail and grasp of the mentality of colonial New Zealand were impressive, and its narrative was gripping. Shadbolt clearly has a command of the military history of the period, and he knows how to handle a plot. But the book seemed more like a play than a novel, due to not only the amount of dialogue but the mannered, periphrastic tone in which the dialogue was conducted. The dialogue was witty, full of intellectual poise, expressing its protagonists' attitudes neatly--rather like second-tier Tom Stoppard. But it did not give the impression of how soldiers in nineteenth-century New Zealand would really talk. Even if anachronism was inevitable here, the characters' attitudes seemed too polished, assured, glib--which would not hurt in a play where role-playing is part of the generic apparatus, but does tend to disconcert the reader of a novel. With the exception of the very well-drawn Hamiora Pere, most of the characters were stereotypes--the colonial regiment officer, the Irishman, the skeptical British expatriate. Given that the novel seems to want to look at this material with new eyes, this creates difficulties. Te Kooti himself is not given a well-rounded portrait, so he appears as merely a mass of contradictions.

Another problem, which probably stems from the dramatic, dialogue-based framework of the book, is that the religious aspects of Te Kooti are scanted. Despite the book being titled "Season of the Jew," little is made of Te Kooti's appropriation of the Old Testament or of the phenomenon of the Bible inspiring far more passion among the Maori than among its European propagators. But coming to terms with this issue would have required more exposition and less snappy, witty dialogue that entertains in the short run but eventually gets in the reader's way.

This work might have been mesmerizing as a drama (or, as a previous reviewer wrote, as a movie), but is somewhat disappointing as a novel. The story of Te Kooti is better told in Judith Binney's recent biography.