Pass On, No Pass Back!

This book really captures the flavor of what it was like growing up in Hawaii in the 1960s and 70s. The tiniest details bring back memories for me. It's written the way people really talk in Hawaii. The funny stories, like "J'Like Ten Thousand" are hilarious. I don't know what someone who didn't grow up in Hawaii would think of this book, but if you're Local, you'll understand.

Darrel Lum is the writer usually credited with giving modern Hawaiian pidgin English the authority to speak loudly and proudly in polite company. Stories like "No Pass Back" and "Toads" from this volume and "Beer Can Hat" and "Primo Doesn't Take Back Bottles Anymore" from his earlier SUN volume clearly demonstrate why he is so popular with readers. I'd recommend that people who are not "tuned-in" to Hawaiian pidgin also purchase his taped reading of these Island classics. Mr. Lum is an accomplished reader much in demand. Especially good for high school and middle school English classes doing units on the use of dialect in literature, these stories compare favorably to the best dialectal works of Mark Twain