A saga of three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa undermined by the changes brought about by colonialism. It is considered a classic work of Pacific literature and Wendt's best novel.

A big story in every sense of the word... peopled by the richest assortment of characters in Pacific fiction, running the gauntlet of human action, the gamut of human emotion." --New Zealand Herald

"Does more than tell a whopping good story about life in Samoa around the time of Independence: it tells each of us our own story in new terms." --Manoa