[1][2] Before moving into politics, Saunana worked in a far-flung variety of jobs, including an attendant at a mental hospital, a waiter, a research assistant, and a training officer for the U.S. Peace Corps.
[2][3] In 2007, he was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Honours list for the Commonwealth realms.
In the journal Ariel, Robert Viking O'Brien has suggested that this is in part because most of the writers in the region came from the educated elite, as well as the fact that the short story is closer in spirit to the traditional tale.
[9] Robert Viking O'Brien noted that "much of The Alternative is transparently autobiographical" and reflects Saunana's own education as well as his agreement with the goals of independence from Britain.
However, he felt the novel effectively critiqued both the "seductive power" and the rigid authoritarian nature of European capitalism and colonialism.