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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Learned a good amount of Hawaiian history, but this one felt more disjointed than her other work, and less entertaining (perhaps because American imperialism isn't that funny).
Going into Unfamiliar Fishes, my knowledge of Hawaii was sparse, to say the least. I can’t say that we covered any Hawaiian history in school- not even that it is our “newest” state. Information came in fits and starts; a friend of mine teaches Hula through VSA, I was familiar with Captain Cooks adventures (and one serious misadventure) in the archipelago, and I caught an old episode of No Reservations. Embarrassing, I know. I had nothing to write home about.
Enter Sarah Vowell and her “almost oral history” of (white) people messing with Hawaii- often with disastrous outcome. Vowell quotes regularly from the memoirs of native Hawaiians, the diaries of Protestant missionaries and their families, speeches from politicians on the mainland, and ancient traditional songs. She also met with people allover the island to extract their views; tour guides, cab drivers, teachers, librarians, descendants of native Hawaiians, decedents of missionaries, and descendants of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and Portuguese immigrants who also found themselves in Hawaii in the 19th century.
I say “almost oral history” because voice matters. The voice of the author wraps the whole collection neatly together, but the voices of Hawaii speak the loudest. I experienced Unfamiliar Fishes as an audio book, and highly recommend that you do the same if this subject is of interest to you. Excerpts from diaries, memoirs, and interviews are read (performed, really) by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Catherine Keener, and many others. Edward Norton is especially well-cast as the dry-as-a-bone missionary Hiram Bingham.
The tale is often depressing, what with disease, erasure of culture, the seizure of sacred lands, the destruction of sacred artifacts littered across Hawaii. I feel that it is important that we learn of the cultural attacks that America bestowed upon Hawaii (and the Philipines, Guam, Puerto Rico…..). We need to look back to keep moving forward, and make amends to the many people that we have harmed along the way. Don’t worry though- there is some schadenfreude to be had along the way. Sailors really gave the missionaries a run for their money!
Enter Sarah Vowell and her “almost oral history” of (white) people messing with Hawaii- often with disastrous outcome. Vowell quotes regularly from the memoirs of native Hawaiians, the diaries of Protestant missionaries and their families, speeches from politicians on the mainland, and ancient traditional songs. She also met with people allover the island to extract their views; tour guides, cab drivers, teachers, librarians, descendants of native Hawaiians, decedents of missionaries, and descendants of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and Portuguese immigrants who also found themselves in Hawaii in the 19th century.
I say “almost oral history” because voice matters. The voice of the author wraps the whole collection neatly together, but the voices of Hawaii speak the loudest. I experienced Unfamiliar Fishes as an audio book, and highly recommend that you do the same if this subject is of interest to you. Excerpts from diaries, memoirs, and interviews are read (performed, really) by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Catherine Keener, and many others. Edward Norton is especially well-cast as the dry-as-a-bone missionary Hiram Bingham.
The tale is often depressing, what with disease, erasure of culture, the seizure of sacred lands, the destruction of sacred artifacts littered across Hawaii. I feel that it is important that we learn of the cultural attacks that America bestowed upon Hawaii (and the Philipines, Guam, Puerto Rico…..). We need to look back to keep moving forward, and make amends to the many people that we have harmed along the way. Don’t worry though- there is some schadenfreude to be had along the way. Sailors really gave the missionaries a run for their money!
This is probably my favorite of Vowell's books (that I have read thus far). I knew very little about the history of Hawaii (just the basics) so I feel like I learned a lot and really enjoyed it. I prefer listening to her books (rather than actually reading them) and this one was no different. One of my favorite parts is guessing who each voice is (this audiobook includes Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Catherine Keener, Ed Norton, Paul Rudd, among others). There were a few moments where I found myself getting bogged down by details and had to take a break (I think this probably says more about me than about the writing). I'm not sure I would have been able to stick with it until the end if I'd actually read the book but I really enjoying listening to the audiobook. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes Vowell's books, history, or interesting and fun audiobooks.
This is the second Sarah Vowell book I’ve listened to. Honestly, for someone like me, this is absolutely fantastic because I’m not great at history. You’d think I’d love it because stories are life, and history is just literally life’s stories. Thankfully, there are options like Vowell’s work to help us learn the full picture in an entertaining and interesting way.
I felt conflicted again with my second Sarah Vowell book. On the one hand, George Bush was NOT the president when she wrote this book, so we are spared frequent complaining about him. Also, I learned a lot of really fascinating things about the history of Hawaii. And Sarah Vowell seems to be pretty good at reading primary sources and selecting the best/juiciest quotes. However, a few things:
- The book is really A History of Things Americans Did In Hawaii Sarah Vowell Didn't Like. It feels episodic and disconnected sometimes. A book with no chapter divisions drives me a little crazy.
- One problem is that she doesn't give her native Hawaiian characters much autonomy. Instead of making reasoned decisions to do this or that, she claims that they were all manipulated into this or that by white people or they "drank the Jesus juice." It can be condescending.
- I still don't get the sense I would ENJOY traveling with Sarah Vowell, which is irritating because I agree with her about many things, including the tragedies in Hawaiian history, the unfair overthrow of the monarchy, the prissiness of certain missionaries. Yet her preaching can be so obnoxious it makes me pigheadedly want to disagree with her.
In summation, a classic 3-star rating: mostly interesting, but too annoying for a 4-star.
- The book is really A History of Things Americans Did In Hawaii Sarah Vowell Didn't Like. It feels episodic and disconnected sometimes. A book with no chapter divisions drives me a little crazy.
- One problem is that she doesn't give her native Hawaiian characters much autonomy. Instead of making reasoned decisions to do this or that, she claims that they were all manipulated into this or that by white people or they "drank the Jesus juice." It can be condescending.
- I still don't get the sense I would ENJOY traveling with Sarah Vowell, which is irritating because I agree with her about many things, including the tragedies in Hawaiian history, the unfair overthrow of the monarchy, the prissiness of certain missionaries. Yet her preaching can be so obnoxious it makes me pigheadedly want to disagree with her.
In summation, a classic 3-star rating: mostly interesting, but too annoying for a 4-star.
Hoping to write a longer review later when I can compose my thoughts. I'm really glad I read this book, I think the only thing I want to critique is the actual structure of the book. It took me 10 months to read it, it's compelling and Vowell's asides are witty, but since it reads like one big run-on history lesson, it was quire thick to get through. Hence, 4 stars instead of 5.
I think the book structure could have benefitted from chapter separation, or more frequent page breaks. I tend to read better when I can reach the end of a chapter in one sitting, particularly with nonfiction. But the nature of Vowell's writing style and narrative structure meant maybe a total of 6 page breaks in the whole book
I think the book structure could have benefitted from chapter separation, or more frequent page breaks. I tend to read better when I can reach the end of a chapter in one sitting, particularly with nonfiction. But the nature of Vowell's writing style and narrative structure meant maybe a total of 6 page breaks in the whole book
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
I love history and after learning about Hawaii having a queen before being colonized, I had to read more. This book was slooooow and I found it incredibly boring. This was a DNF for me.
Every few years a new Sarah Vowell book comes along. And every few years I think to myself, "Oh, I like Sarah Vowell. I'll pick up her new book." And then, more and more over the last few years, I've finished said book and thought, "She isn't giving me quite what I thought I'd signed up for." I seem to remember the first book I read by Sarah Vowell as having some wit, charm and lots of personal anecdotes intertwined with the well-researched, thorough, informative body of the book. As the years pass, this wit has been replaced by more of that well-researched (often dry) retelling of history.
Now, to give her credit, the topics she covers are unique. And, like I mentioned, just incredibly researched and thoroughly explained. This book covers an important part of Hawaiian history... which is both unique and takes some detailed research to get right. But when you start mixing Hawaiian names and places into an already incredibly diverse cast of characters, the entire thing gets pretty hard to keep organized... in my head, and in the book.
The history presented in this book can be fascinating! I had no idea (even after spending a fair amount of time in Hawaii and being exposed to many native traditions) just how complicated the interaction was between missionaries and native Hawaiians. And how that led to even more complicated interactions between the Hawaiians and the United States. There are a lot of good stories in there, but you really have to dig to find the good stuff.
I'm sure when the next Sarah Vowell book comes out I'll pick that up, too, and think to myself, "Oh, I like Sarah Vowell. I'll give this new book a shot." Hopefully in the future I'll find a bit more of what I'm anticipating.
Now, to give her credit, the topics she covers are unique. And, like I mentioned, just incredibly researched and thoroughly explained. This book covers an important part of Hawaiian history... which is both unique and takes some detailed research to get right. But when you start mixing Hawaiian names and places into an already incredibly diverse cast of characters, the entire thing gets pretty hard to keep organized... in my head, and in the book.
The history presented in this book can be fascinating! I had no idea (even after spending a fair amount of time in Hawaii and being exposed to many native traditions) just how complicated the interaction was between missionaries and native Hawaiians. And how that led to even more complicated interactions between the Hawaiians and the United States. There are a lot of good stories in there, but you really have to dig to find the good stuff.
I'm sure when the next Sarah Vowell book comes out I'll pick that up, too, and think to myself, "Oh, I like Sarah Vowell. I'll give this new book a shot." Hopefully in the future I'll find a bit more of what I'm anticipating.