Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
It's always a major commitment to finish a Michener book!
We were in Hawaii waiting for the hurricane and realized we only had e-readers, which might not stay readable if there was a prolonged power outage, so while everyone else was getting water at Safeway, we went to a used bookstore and got real books, and I couldn't resist Hawaii!
My favorite parts:
- the gritty description of the leper colony on Molokai
- the missionary doctor, Dr. Whipple
It all felt so real I had to keep googling the characters, but they really are fictional, albeit loosely based on real historical figures (Dr. Whipple, for instance, was inspired by the real missionary Asa Thurston). True to history, the Whipple family in the book numbers in the hundreds by the fifth generation after the missionaries came, and - according to Wikipedia - there are hundreds of Thurston descendants now.
We were in Hawaii waiting for the hurricane and realized we only had e-readers, which might not stay readable if there was a prolonged power outage, so while everyone else was getting water at Safeway, we went to a used bookstore and got real books, and I couldn't resist Hawaii!
My favorite parts:
- the gritty description of the leper colony on Molokai
- the missionary doctor, Dr. Whipple
It all felt so real I had to keep googling the characters, but they really are fictional, albeit loosely based on real historical figures (Dr. Whipple, for instance, was inspired by the real missionary Asa Thurston). True to history, the Whipple family in the book numbers in the hundreds by the fifth generation after the missionaries came, and - according to Wikipedia - there are hundreds of Thurston descendants now.
informative
slow-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Hawaii is one of those books that will stay on your mind long after you finish it. It has become one of my favorite books I have read , since I had been under a rock and never read a Michener book. It’s a story based on factual Hawaii history. It’s starts with a well described formation of islands in the beginning of time. Wow what an opening fir a book , simply captivating. The book goes on to tell story of first people on the island, the missionaries and how they helped form the life there. Michener does a good job of drawing you into the timeline of story. It’s a must read for any history buff and definitely if you plan on visiting Hawaii. I will help you appreciate Hawaii’s people and their story
I've had this on the shelf for a solid 15 years. I finally read it before the honeymoon in Maui. As with most of Michener's fiction, it's long, detailed, and covers several millenia. But I learned a ton about my favorite vacation spot — from sugarcane to leper colonies, and from fire gods to the Plague. Fascinating read!
I'm not going to lie, this book is a project. Even though it took months to read, I loved each of the chapters, the weaving lives and stories, and the obvious love the author has for Hawaii and the various cultures that make up its unique culture. After having been there, the book was ever more special because I could imagine the places and the people. While Hawaii wasn't as great as other Michner books I've read (The Source, Chesapeake), it was still incredible and worth reading.
There are definitely many parts of HAWAII that are engaging, but so much of this book feels like Michener stitched too many events together with only some cohesion—kind of like its length is its weakness? For me, it was worth the read, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
Really a fantastic book! Tackles race and immigration and culture in the most fascinating and respectful ways. I *also* really love how it unapologetically presents these terrible, flawed characters and makes no effort to comment on the moral standing of their deeds, which makes the deadpan, zero-explication irony that much more impactful. It's nice to be hit over the head; the actions speak for themselves.
After only reading Michener's Alaska, his was such a disappointment. The chapters, each taking place at certain formative moments in history, meandered and did not grab me the way they did in Alaska. As someone fascinated by Hawaii, I feel that this was a huge letdown in that I learned very little.