Fiji — The Book Roads

Books from Fiji

Nilima Rao

Set in Fiji in 1915, during the First World War, A Shipwreck in Fiji follows Sergeant Akal Singh, an Indian police officer still struggling to establish himself in the British colonial administration. Recently transferred to the Pacific island colony, Akal is sent to Ovalau, a neighbouring island, to investigate reports of German soldiers supposedly hiding thousands of miles from the European front. He is also tasked with accompanying two visiting European women on a sightseeing trip and supervising a young local constable. What begins as a series of seemingly routine assignments soon becomes complicated when a controversial local shopkeeper is found dead and a group of Norwegian sailors is imprisoned in a Fijian village. Accompanied by his friend and colleague Taviti Tukana, Akal must navigate conflicting accounts, local politics, and the prejudices of colonial society. Meanwhile, the aspiring journalist Katherine has her own reasons for visiting the island. Blending historical mystery, humour, and social commentary, Rao explores colonial power, racial and class divisions, and the challenges of seeking justice in a society shaped by unequal authority.

2025

A Disappearance in Fiji

Nilima Rao

Set in Fiji in 1914, A Disappearance in Fiji follows Akal Singh, a 25-year-old Indian police sergeant whose promising career in Hong Kong has been derailed by a professional mistake. Transferred to the British colonial outpost of Fiji as punishment, Akal feels isolated and longs to return to India or Hong Kong. His prospects change when an Indian woman named Kunti disappears from a sugarcane plantation, prompting accusations of kidnapping and attracting unwanted public attention. Assigned to investigate, Akal encounters conflicting accounts from plantation owners, Indian indentured labourers, and Indigenous Fijians. As he uncovers inconsistencies in their stories, he begins to suspect that the disappearance reveals something far more troubling than a simple missing-persons case. Blending historical mystery with social commentary, Rao explores colonial racism, caste prejudice, and the exploitation of indentured Indian workers. Through Akal’s investigation, the novel reveals the inequalities underpinning colonial Fiji while examining how a detective’s understanding of justice can change when he confronts the realities of those living under oppressive systems.

2023

Famous authors from Fiji

Nilima Rao

2 books

About Fiji

Fiji is an island nation in the South Pacific made up of more than 300 islands, with mountainous interiors, tropical forests, coral reefs, lagoons, and long stretches of coastline. Its largest islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, are home to most of the population, including the capital Suva. Fijian culture reflects the traditions of Indigenous iTaukei communities alongside the heritage of Indo-Fijians, whose ancestors arrived during the colonial period.

Region: Oceania

Literary Context

Fiji’s literary tradition is closely connected to oral storytelling, genealogy, legends, songs, and traditional poetry, through which histories and cultural knowledge were passed between generations. Modern written literature developed particularly during the 20th century, shaped by Indigenous traditions, colonial history, migration, and the experience of a culturally diverse society. Important Fijian writers include Subramani, whose fiction and criticism explore Indo-Fijian identity, migration, and political change, and Satendra Nandan, whose poetry and memoirs draw on questions of belonging, displacement, and Fiji’s multicultural society. Epeli Hauʻofa, although associated with Tonga as well as the wider Pacific, was an influential writer and thinker whose work challenged narrow ideas of Pacific island identity. Contemporary Pacific literature from Fiji often explores colonialism, cultural identity, migration, race, political upheaval, environmental change, and the relationship between people and the ocean, while maintaining strong connections to oral and communal traditions.