Hawaii: A Novel by James A. Michener
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.68 You Save: $8.32 (49%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.88 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Hawaii: A Novel
Book Review: my favorite book of all time
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for my daughter in law. I have read and re-read this book many times, my copy is so old and dog-eared that i decided to buy a new one for her.
Dorothy Harper
Book Review: Hawaii
Summary: 5 Stars
Having recently visited Hawaii I have found this book very intresting.
I have enjoyed previous books by Michener very intresting. This book is no exception.
Book Review: Impressive
Summary: 4 Stars
I've never read Michener's work before, but this book left me awed with his knowledge of history and storytelling ability. The book begins with a brief section on the formation of the islands, then plunges into a novella (100 pages) about the arrival of the original Polynesian settlers. After that, it jumps forward again to the 1820s and the arrival of the New England missionaries. After this point, the narrative is pretty much continuous, with new chapters covering both the background and the arrival of new groups (Chinese, Japanese) and continuing the story of those who were already there. At this point it becomes very much a family saga, spanning about 130 years (the book was published in 1959, so the narrative deals only with pre-statehood Hawaii).
Obviously there's a great deal of history here, somewhat fictionalized as it may be, and I've never learned about so many places and cultures in the same book. The depth of Michener's research and the details of his portrayal of the lifestyles and thought processes of people from so many different cultures, in particular, never failed to impress me. But the story is brought down-to-earth through the always-engaging struggles of the protagonists, and the plotting and characterization were certainly enough to keep me reading. The writing style is intelligent; I know some people find Michener too dense for their tastes, but for me this book was just right: much more intelligent than your typical pop lit, but still absolutely readable.
My one reservation about this book is that, while I think Michener was quite progressive for the 50's, there are some wince-worthy moments in his dealing with race relations and his characterization of women and their roles. It doesn't seem to have bothered many people, but there is the occasional bit that hasn't aged especially well. Other reviewers have found the dropping of old protagonists jarring as the story moves on from one generation to the next, but I think that's standard for family sagas, especially when they have the breadth of this one.
I highly recommend this book even to those who have no special interest in Hawaii, and I plan to read more of Michener's work in the future.
Book Review: Review of Hawaii
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a very long book so it is somewhat of a committment to read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is taking a trip to the Hawaiian Islands. It will definitely enrich your visit by giving you a better understanding of the land, the traditions and the history.
Some might say the first 30 or so pages are a little boring. I thought them somewhat interesting. These pages explain how millions and millions of years ago the islands were formed by a series of volcanos. Birds arrived and eventually trees grew, etc. After you get past these pages the next one-third of the book is as exciting as any you will ever read. It explains how the people of Bora Bora escape to form their own civilization. To me this was the highlight of the book. This part of the book was dramatic and intense. After that point though I thought the action slowly receeded. The remainder of the book was still interesting in my opinion, but there wasn't a lot of action. It mostly dealt with the business, political and racial aspects of the islands. It gave a fictional history starting with the missionaries, the arrival of the Japanese and followed on until Hawaii reached statehood in 1959.
I recommended this book to a couple in our bible study prior to their trip to Hawaii. The wife started reading the book, but admitted that three-fourths of the way through she lost interest and quit even though she said she learned a lot. I am glad that I read it and I learned a lot, but this book is certainly not recommended for everyone.
Book Review: Another epic Michener
Summary: 4 Stars
Michener does a great job with each of his books, and this one was no exception. It starts at the beginning of the Earth and tells how the Polynesians came to Hawaii, how other settlers came to Hawaii, and on almost to the present day: very readable history.