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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
I learned a lot about this history of the Hawaiian islands and the history of Hawaiians U.S. (and other white) peoples, but this book can be difficult to follow along with at points. There are a lot of names, places, and especially quotes for such a short book. The quotes in particular made it hard for me at times to keep a good rhythm while reading. There is also a decent amount of hopping back and forth in time. That's to be expected with just about any history book but again, I found it hard to follow along at points. So while I learned a lot, I feel like I'll need to read more books on Hawaiian history to really get the full story.
This one is a difficult listen because of the subject matter. Like. I knew the US annexation of Hawaii was extremely problematic, but there's knowing and then there's going over the ways in detail, and that's what we did here. But it was good, and it's good to know, and Sarah Vowell is still a favorite.
funny
informative
Actually it was too in depth. I usually love her writing but found this one to be too dense.
How can you not like a book that starts with plate lunch at Rainbow's?
Plate lunch may have been the high point. Although I enjoyed Vowell's snarky voice and cynicism toward haoles (specifically missionaries and all they represented), I found the narrative disjointed. It felt like there was no direct chronology and many personal tangents the veered off course.
On the whole it was well written and I did appreciate Vowell's voice, but I couldn't figure out if it was history, memoir, or something in between.
Plate lunch may have been the high point. Although I enjoyed Vowell's snarky voice and cynicism toward haoles (specifically missionaries and all they represented), I found the narrative disjointed. It felt like there was no direct chronology and many personal tangents the veered off course.
On the whole it was well written and I did appreciate Vowell's voice, but I couldn't figure out if it was history, memoir, or something in between.
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
Unfortunately, I think this would be four stars if I had read it in print. The insertion of different narrators for different primary source quotations was a bit awkward and I found it distracting. But Vowell's writing is very clear and it held my interest. Would recommend for anyone who doesn't mind name- and date-heavy non-fiction.
Another solid Sarah Vowell non-fiction book - this time, focused on how Hawaii became a US state. As you might imagine, full of terribly sad shit about how white people moved in and pushed out a native culture, but also lots of interesting details about how the early Hawaiian people and rulers were a part of that process.
Sarah Vowell's style of writing history is a welcome change from the stodgy, old-school method of reciting dates and too-carefully trying to appear unbiased. She can certainly be irreverent, and has no problem indicating her own opinions about the actions and politics of historical figures. But she always backs it up with solid data and clear reporting of events. She skillfully uses primary sources to illustrate her points, and delivers the history with wit, cynicism, and a modern telling that makes her work a delight to read.
I also really loved hearing her read it. Her voice is so different from the subject matter, and she sounds nothing like a historian, but her intonation is so important in some of her commentary.
I also really loved hearing her read it. Her voice is so different from the subject matter, and she sounds nothing like a historian, but her intonation is so important in some of her commentary.