I read this book for the first and second times last night.It was my second time, because I had read the book when first published. But because I lived in Hawaii back then, perhaps I could not fully absorb the stunning setting and the author's many insights about island life.I lived in Hawaii for 25 years, and in my second reading Ms. Nelson captured and returned me to 1970s Hawaii. At the same time, I learned a great deal from her book that I did not discern during my time in Hawaii.The book is about much more than Hawaii. Anyone who has ever been young will identify with this memoir, and will come away richer for the author's uncanny powers of observation about universal themes.
A Classic of Island Literature
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
A great book that captures the feel of Hawaii. Victoria's Hawaii is gone but the 'feel' of the place is timeless. Her description of Hawaiian music,plate lunches and hundreds of other details of island life are right on target. If you've been captivated by the idea of island life...read this book. You'll be on the beach,breathing in plumerias as long as your eyes cross the words.
A great book that shouldn't be out of print.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 27 years ago
I was introduced to this book by a writer who had lived in Hawaii for most of the '70s, and she felt that it was one of the best personal memoirs of living in Hawaii that she had read. Nelson taught at the University of Hawaii in the '70s, and traveled throughout the islands. She captures the beauty, the sadness, the cultural tensions and improbable harmonies of a people and a setting that is so much more than a Waikiki Beach tourist-trap destination. Her description of the people of Moloka'i was one my motivations to find the true meaning of **Aloha** and visit what may be the friendliest place in Hawai'i. St. Martin's should at least bring it back in trade paperback - the travel sections of most bookstores are dying for a distinctly different look at one of the most fascinating and spiritual places in the world
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