Call of the Kiwi (In the Land of the Long White Cloud saga Book 3)

As a trilogy, these books got better as they revealed each next generation of women and the new hardships they faced.There were very few of the main characters that didn’t draw you in, though Kura took a while to show her human side, she seemed to return to her egotistical diva ways by book 3. However, without her lack of care, it would never have forced Gloria into the measures she took.

Book arrived in good condition and timely

Call of the KIWI Book 3.Gloria was one of the main characters in this book so I am going to concentrate on her. She was one of the younger in the families and she was having a hard time of it when her cousin and mentor, Jack, went off to war. So she decided it was time for her to leave and her first stop was at Queenstown(?) which was a place to stay on her journey to England. There she ran into her cousin who was playing piano and singing at a brothel. The did some catching up and then Gloria continued to England. There she met her parents; her mother was a well known piano player and singer and did opera. Her dad sold vacuum cleaners. She went to her mother's opera with her dad and it was spectacular. And she stayed a number of days there but knew she could not travel on with them. She gave them a hasty goodbye when it was time for her to leave to catch her ship back to New Zealand. Gloria was the only woman on the ship, It as a big eye-opener as to what she would be doing. But she had no money and she did want to get back to New Zealand. Gloria went through many changes on her trip. She wasn't the same girl at all. Fluffy

I read the last two books prior to this one and it’s beautifully written. I could not put this book down, just like the books before this last one, they were all great! It’s amazing to be able to read how much the characters grow in each book. I also enjoyed reading about the Māori and how it intertwined with the story.

Sarah Lark's third volume in the Land of the Long White Cloud series, "Call of the Kiwi," is as well-researched and beautifully crafted as the two previous volumes. Although I did find a couple of typos that escaped editing and proof reading there is absolutely NOTHING else negative to possibly say about this wonderfully "good story." Lark's skill in character and plot development is without peer. Throughout the three volumes the numerous characters all remain true to themselves and their experiences. There are no contradictions or confusion in the multiple storylines that thread through the volumes. Although best appreciated as a trilogy, each volume can actually stand alone. Lark deftly weaves in the necessary back story as each storyline unfolds: a remarkably well done task! Equally impressive is her swing between the native Maori culture and that of the European immigrants who settled and developed New Zealand. Again, the thoroughness of Lark's research shows in the explicit details of the Maori culture and history. What a thoroughly enlightening and satisfying read Lark provides and not one of the 471 pages is superfluous! This book kept me reading for nine straight hours, and even though I still was not ready for the story to end, Lark successfully brought satisfying closure to the entire saga. What a wonderful book to read and to share!

First I would like to say that the first 2 books of the series were good to very good. This third installment is very slow. The main character Gloria does not elicit any sympathy. She seems like she is a pawn through the whole story being moved around against her will. It is hardly believable that Gwyneria the great Grandmother would send the child to England on the command of one letter from her mother, Kura. Especially when she is happy and safe. They abandoned her for 12 years so lets put her on a boat and send her across the world because she says so. REALLY! Then the Gloria she becomes is like a 3 year old in all matters of life to the age of 20. The very worst thing the book did was after she was sexually abused by maybe 50+ men on her journey home. Uncle Jack (blood relative, his brothers granddaughter) who pretty much became Glorias father figure from the the day she was born to when she was shipped off at 12. The author has Gloria and Jack fall in love. When they were first in the sleeping bag to stay warm I thought isn't that nice she is trusting her Uncle Jack again. Then 20 pages later he kisses her WHAT the ??? Then a few more pages they are thinking about sex and want to get married and not one of the family thinks that is a little off. There is a passage where Jack says its good you grew up in England because if you stayed I would have looked on you as a little sister. Again WHAT? She IS your little niece. you are twice her age. So to sum it up. She is sexually abused by many sailors to be then sexually abused by her UNCLE by blood. Then they all lived happily ever after. The first book in the series I gave 5 stars. It takes a lot for 5 stars from me so I am sad the trilogy ended so poorly

Very firmly set in the South Island of New Zealand, the cover of a young lady on a passenger ship against the London skyline is misleading. Gloria's trip to England was anything but happy. Jack, too, was much more at home on a sheep ranch in New Zealand. He joined the war effort after the loss of his young wife and suffered mentally and physically. Gloria never fitted in at a posh boarding school, even less in her mother's theatrical career. Wishing only to return to New Zealand, she barely escapes with her life when fleeing the ordeal of being used as a sex slave on board the boats that take her to Australia (I found those episodes hard to read). Hugely traumatised, she eventually gets back to New Zealand and to the ranch where she grew up. There she meets up with an equally traumatized Jack... and the slow healing processes can start. Interwoven with the stories of the rest of the extended family we met in the previous 2 books, it is a gripping read - but not for children under 13!

The daughters of Elaine and Kura travel to a boarding school in England where one settles down quickly and happily, while the other spends years of misery before making her own way back home to New Zealand, with great difficulty. Covering the years prior to, during and after the first World War, there is also much focus on Jack, son of Gwyn and James McKenzie who suffers a devastating loss, which leaves him inconsolable, but he goes on to live through action in Gallipoli. As the book concludes the whole family is reunited at Kiward Station but it does leaves the reader wondering about future generations and how they fared.This series comprises three riveting stories starting in 1952 and finishing in 1919 and in some ways had me favourably comparing it with the Jalna/Whiteoaks series written by Mazo de la Roche. DW Lovett’s translation from the original German flowed well and captured the essence of the story throughout the three books and I shall definitely be buying and reading more of Sarah Lark’s novels on my Kindle.

Sarah Lark is a brilliant writer and I hugely enjoy her novels. But Jack is Gloria's half-uncle, making their sexual relationship incestuous and their marriage illegal. There are a few countries in the world which allow avuncular marriages, but they are not allowed in New Zealand. Four stars even so for fab writing and characterisation.

After reading book 1, I 'binge read' the other 2.Living in New Zealand, where the saga is set made it even more interesting. The author is very accurate with the lives of the early European settlers, as well as that of the Maori immigrants and their wonderful, special culture. It was an excellent explanation of what our forefathers went through in the early years of immigration, and the hardships they suffered for a better life.My only confusion in the final book is how can an uncle legally marry his great niece?

This trilogy was absorbing in content, but thoroughly spoiled by the translation by an American. I would have given 5 stars for the story but was so disappointed as the translations were in American terms for English places and his misunderstanding of England were woeful. A priest in the Church of England does not have his first "rectorate" for example!! For a new perspective on immigration and sheep rearing, and the immigrants relations with the Maori people it is a really good read, so don't be put off by the infelicities. Good to be able to read a "landscape" book in one go and find out what happens to all the generations.

I did not enjoy this despite having read the first two and was looking forward to the continuing family stories. The writing in this book seemed amateurish and appeared to struggle as much with story lines as I did reading them. Had to finish to see if it got better, even though it felt like I was being too hopeful. .....I was correct. Sadly not tempted to try any more.