Hawaii (Library Binding)

This is not the type of history you remember from your school days, dull and filled with irrelevant dates. It is instead a vibrant group of stories about some very engaging people, from Malama and Teroro of the early Polynesian settlers, to Abner and Jerusha Hale of the harsh, bitter school of Calvinist religion, to Char Nyuk Tsin and her sons and their sons, a great extended family with tentacles that reach across every business and social circle the islands have. Some of these characters are entirely fictitious, some are amalgams of known historical characters, a few are directly modeled on the individuals you can find in the history books, but regardless of their source or historical accuracy, you will find yourself totally engaged by them, fighting their battles, feeling their sorrow, enraged by their foolishness and arrogance, crying with their happiness. And along the way you will find that you have learned a lot about these islands and their history, and will end the book wanting to know more (what has happened there since this book was published in 1959?).

Many people seem to find the opening section on the geological history of the islands somewhat dull, but, in showing how the islands took shape via wave after wave of titanic and destructive eruptions, it provides a perfect counter-point to the later sections dealing with each wave of people as they arrive at the islands. And for those whose impression of this book was formed by seeing the Max von Sydow/Julie Andrews/Richard Harris movie, which was based on only one section of this book, "From the Farm of Bitterness", you will find that the movie is a very pale reflection of what this book has to offer.

If this book has a fault, it is in the constant optimistic outlook that Michener presents, both in terms of history and of people. But is it so bad to look on the bright side of things for a change? I ended this book with tears of joy, and I think you will too.

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It starts rather slowly with the description of Hawaii emerging as a volcanic entity. I actually enjoyed the first chapter more after I got to the middle of the book and read Chapter 1 again to refresh myself of the history that this island was built on.

The tale starts with the lives of those first pacific islanders and the worship of gods, idols and the volcanoes. The stories of this time are as fascinating and inextricably linked to the future stories of immigrants and struggle for identity that are found in the latter parts of the books.

I remember when I was a kid, seeing a film version of the missionary part of the story starring Julie Andrews and Richard Harris. However, being "Hollywood" it missed the even more fascinating second half of the book and the stories of the Chinese and the Japanese. It was a great dis-service to the book itself.

Michener, through excellent, visual and spellbinding characterisation, allows the reader to feel an intimate knowledge of the history of these beautiful islands.

It surveys the actions of the missionaries, hawaians, chinese and japanese through stories of economy-building, world war two, the position of the Japanese Americans, the awful stigma of leprosy, the fate of the original Hawaian Islanders and the mixing of all these peoples, albeit grudgingly on the part of some. The stories of the Americans , Japanese and the Chinese are fascinating in themselves even before they end up in Hawaii.

I am left with the belief that these people are real and that this is the real story of Hawaii. I am left furthermore with the feeling on having read the book that I know something about Hawaii that those who haven't read the book will never know.....

READ this book, it is fantastic.

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Hawaii requires that kind of explanation. I remember visiting the orchid garden in Honolulu once. I thought I had seen everything and really enjoyed it after 30 minutes. Then a volunteer gardener introduced himself and asked me if I would like a tour. I naturally agreed, and in the next 2 and a half hours, I saw the garden for the first time. That is what Michener will do for you in this terrific novel about Hawaii.

Like all Michener novels, this one starts back millions of years ago with how the islands were formed and populated. You will get a great geology and history lesson in the process. Normally, you would probably not be interested in either one in a novel, but they are both very valuable to you as a tourist in the islands by adding to your knowledge.

The people in the story are full of passion for religion, acquiring material possessions, power and sex. Although the last is not explicitly described, lust plays a big role in the story. That seems as it should in a tropical paradise where warm weather and scanty clothing combine.

When you visit modern day Hawaii, you will see reminders of the founding families of modern Hawaii all around you. Hawaii will give you a sense of the histories behind the current power and business structure.

The book itself is written in a way that feels like you are sitting at a luau with someone telling you the story through a combination of traditional means (like the hula) and good campfire story-telling. It's almost like a trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center on the northern shore of Oahu.

Seldom do I wish that long novels (and this one is really long) would keep on going, but that was my wish with Hawaii. Even if the fiction were not based loosely on fact, it would have been an exciting and engrossing novel. The fact that the reality is a lot like the novel makes it all the more appealing.

Hawaii will hook you on Hawaii. That's good. We all need more of the magic of the islands in our lives. Leave your misconceptions behind about Hawaii being too far away. It can be right inside of you. Enjoy!

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