A review by mjpatton
Hawaii by James A. Michener

3.0

I debated between two stars and three. I may have read this back during my high school years (late '60s) because elements seemed vaguely familiar. Anyway, we are going to be vacationing in Hawaii in August, so I thought this might be an interesting read, especially after finishing a history of the islands. I found the historical fiction elements of the book interesting; however, that said, even though Michener may deserve some leeway for his 1959 attitudes when he published Hawaii, the stereotypes of races and sexes that he relies on and works to death are tough to take. In addition, almost all paper thin, having about one dominant characteristic or belief and every action, every decision, every relationship is controlled by this characteristic. Not only that, but certain families or branches of family trees carry on this trait. A couple of times I found myself thinking, "Wait, how old is this person?" and then realizing that I was confusing generations, not because the story has many characters and is complex, but because, at times, fathers and sons, grandfathers and grandsons, etc., are almost identical in character. I gave the book three stars, but as I finish my review here, I find myself leaning more toward two.