Tiare in Bloom (31 page)

That was the moment I said to myself, “Girl, you’re falling in love with Pito here, keep writing . . .”

Tiare in Bloom
was the easiest of the three books to write; nine months compared with three years with
Breadfruit,
and two with
Frangipani.

And I sure had a lot of fun.

1.
Tiare in Bloom
is a novel built around relationships —between husbands and wives, fathers and children, family members near and far, and
friends. Which relationship did you find the most compelling? Were any reminiscent of the relationships in your life?

2. We watch many men transform and mature throughout the novel. Can you identify a turning point for each male character?
What made Tamatoa take responsibility for his daughter, or Ati reclaim his life? Why did it take a grandchild to make Pito
see the error of his ways?

3. Tiare, the author tells us, is Tahiti’s national flower. What is the significance of Tamatoa’s daughter’s being named Tiare?
Why do you think the author chose the title
Tiare in Bloom
?

4. How would you describe the author’s writing style? Did you find anything striking or unusual about the way the story unfolds?
Can you think of any moments in the book where the voice is deceptively simple?

5.
Tiare in Bloom
is told from both Materena’s and Pito’s point of view. Talk about the differences and similarities in each character’s attitude
and voice. How do Pito’s chats with his male friends differ from Materena’s conversations with the women on her radio show?
Whom do you identify with more?

6. At one point in the novel, Materena and her friends confess the crazy things they’ve done for love — dyed their hair blond,
walked twenty kilometers to see a man, sneaked out of a bedroom window at night, given up a favorite pastime. What’s the craziest
thing you’ve done for love? Was it worth it?

7. What lessons do you draw from Pito in the novel? And from Materena? Think of these characters in terms of both their individual
qualities and the ideals they represent.

8. In the chapter “Breathing like you want,” Materena speaks about what it means to be a Tahitian. Did you find any of these
things surprising or, in your opinion, particular to a Tahitian way of life? Are these qualities you had expected Materena
to point out? How would you describe
your
heritage or culture?

9. What do secondary characters such as Leilani, Ati, and Lily bring to the story? What do you think the author is hoping
to show through each of these characters?

10. What did you know about Tahiti before reading
Tiare in Bloom
? How does the novel change or shape your understanding of Tahitian culture?

Following is an excerpt from the opening pages of

Célestine Vaite’s

Breadfruit

M
aterena likes movies about love.

When there’s a love movie on the television, Materena sits on the sofa, her hands crossed, and her eyes focused on the TV
screen. She doesn’t broom or cut her toenails, she doesn’t iron, or fold clothes. She doesn’t do anything except concentrate
on the movie.

Movies about love move Materena and sometimes it happens that she imagines she’s the heroine.

The love movie tonight is about a woman who loves a man with a passion, but, unfortunately, she has to marry another man —
it’s the plan of her parents. Her future husband is not bad-looking or mean. It’s just that she feels nothing for that man.
When she looks at him, it’s like she’s looking at a tree — whereas when she looks at the man she loves, her heart goes
boom, boom,
she wants to kiss him, and she wants to hold him tight.

The woman in the movie meets the man she loves one last time — it is a day before her grandiose wedding, and he’s leaving
for a faraway country, never to return, because it’s too much for him to bear to stay in the neighborhood. It’s easier for
him to just disappear.

The lovers meet behind a thick hedge. They kiss, they embrace, then he falls to his knees and declares: “I will love you till
I die, till I die, I swear to God, you are the center of my universe, my guiding light, the only one.”

The heroine hides her face in her gloved hands and bursts into tears. There’s violin music, and a tear escapes from the corner
of Materena’s eye. She’s sad for the woman. She can feel the pain.

“Poor her,” Materena sighs.

“Zero movie! What a load of crap!” This is Pito’s comment.

In his opinion, there is too much crying in that movie, too much carrying-on, no action. And the man, what a
bébé la la
— wake up to yourself.

“Well, go read your Akim comic in the kitchen.” Materena wipes her eyes with her pareu.

But Pito is too comfortable on the sofa, and he wants to watch the end of that silly movie. Materena wishes she could transport
Pito somewhere else. He’s been annoying her ever since the movie started with his comments and sighs.

Pito doesn’t like movies about love. He prefers cowboy movies, movies with action and as little talking as possible.

The movie is near the end and Materena hopes Pito is not going to spoil it with a stupid remark. Materena needs complete silence.
The end of a love movie is very crucial. There’s a lot of tension. In Materena’s mind, the heroine will be reunited with the
man she loves, but love movies don’t always end the way Materena would like them to end.

There’s the grandiose wedding and it is clear to Materena that the bride’s thoughts are not in the church. She keeps looking
back, waiting for the man she loves to appear and rescue her. Materena can guess it. Materena expects the man to barge into
the church at any second too, but he’s far away, riding on his horse. Materena says in her head, Eh, go get the woman you
love, you idiot. But he keeps on riding that horse.

And meanwhile, to Materena’s sadness, the heroine becomes the wife of the man she doesn’t love.

Confetti greets the newlyweds outside the church and doves are set free. The heroine watches the doves fly toward the gray
sky.

It is the end of the movie and Materena is really annoyed, she prefers happy endings. She listens to the soft melody of the
piano during the credits and reads the names of the principal actors. It reminds her that the sad story is only a movie and
not the reality.

After the final credits have finished, she switches the TV off.

“Zero movie!” Pito gets off the sofa like he weighs over two hundred pounds.

Materena tidies up the living room.

“Zero movie!” Pito is now making himself comfortable in the bed.

Materena pulls the bedcover her way and rolls to the far side of the bed.

“I tell you, Materena, if I was the man in the movie, I tell you, if it was I, the man . . .” Pito says he would have snatched
the woman and escaped with her on the horse.

“Yes, okay. Good night.” Materena is not listening to Pito anymore.

She closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep. And she dreams she has to marry the man in the movie, but the man she loves is
Pito. She’s in the church, about to pronounce “I do,” when the door of the church swings open. It is Pito. He is on a horse
and he’s wearing cowboy clothes and a cowboy hat.

People stare as Pito makes his way to the altar, they also stare at the horse.

Pito grabs Materena by the waist and he says to the man she’s supposed to marry, “Listen, that woman, she’s for me — you go
look for another woman, okay?” Pito has a fierce look on his face. Pito and Materena ride out of the church, they ride far
away, far away, to the desert.

When Materena wakes up, she’s laughing.

CÉ
LESTINE
V
AITE
was born in Tahiti. The daughter of a Tahitian mother and a French father who went back to his country after military service,
she grew up in her big extended family in Faa’a-Tahiti, where storytelling was part of the everyday life, and women overcame
obstacles with gusto and humor. Her first two novels about the Mahi and Tehana families,
Breadfruit
(which won the 2004 Prix littéraire des étudiants) and
Frangipani
(which won the 2006 Prix littéraire des étudiants), have been published in the UK, the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain,
Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Brazil, France, Germany, and French Polynesia.
Frangipani
was short-listed for the 2005 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Célestine now lives on the south coast of New South Wales.
Tiare in Bloom
is her third novel.