ericbuscemi 's review for:

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell

3.0

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I chose to read this after honeymooning in Hawaii and glimpsing the native culture, as well as a barely perceptible undercurrent of malice toward the islands' many "haole" tourists. I have a much better understanding of both having read this, and wish I read it before my trip there.

For the record, I don't read much non-fiction, and find history to be an incredibly dry and boring subject, so this three-star rating is a rather complimentary one, considering the reader. Especially if you consider that the history of the annexation of Hawaii starts off with a pilgrimage of New England missionaries and ends decades later in a bloodless, legal coup (can you think of a more boring premise to base a book on?).

The title of the novel comes from Hawaiian writer David Malo, with this unfortunately prophetic quote:

If a big wave comes in, large and unfamiliar fishes will come from the dark ocean, and when they see the small fishes of the shallows they will eat them up. The white man's ships have arrived with clever men from the big countries. They know our people are few in number and our country is small, they will devour us.

This book, sadly, made me a bit embarrassed to be an American. America's policy of manifest destiny at the cost of the cultures, freedoms and lives of various indigenous peoples throughout history is truly appalling, and this book -- although funny in its author's casual delivery -- is a sad reminder of one of the less publicized examples of that policy.