Bird child & other stories / Patricia Grace.

"A powerful new collection from one of Aoteroa's most esteemed fiction writers"--Title page.

Introduction -- Part one: Bird child ; Mahuika et al. -- Sun's marbles ; The unremembered -- Part two: When the lights go on again ; All over the world ; Departure ; Going for the bread ; Chewing gum ; Kepa ; Looking down on water ; The lamp ; The return ; Back home ; Boils ; The urupā ; Leroy -- Part three: The machine ; Green dress ; Hey dude ; Amtariki All-Stars ; The parson who thought she or he was a bishop ; Thunder ; Seeing red ; Whakarongo -- Acknowledgements -- Also by Patricia Grace.

The titular story 'Bird Child' plunges you deep into Te Kore, an ancient time before time. In another, the formidable goddess Mahuika, Keeper of Fire, becomes a doting mother and friend. Later, Grace's own childhood vividly shapes the world of the young character Mereana; and a widower's hilariously human struggle to parent his seven daughters is told with trademark wit and crackling dialogue.