The Descendants

Matthew King's wife Joanie is in a coma and not expected to survive. Matt thus finds himself suddenly thrust into the role of single parent to their two daughters, aged 10 and 17. One day that will mean the normal things--getting the girls up for school and taking them to dentists' appointments, the minutiae of parenting. But for now the situation is extreme. He needs to explain to them that the doctors are taking their mother off life support, and he has to walk them through the process of saying goodbye to her. He also finds himself confronting for the first time the ugly fact that both girls are completely out of control, juvenile delinquents or just shy of it. Meanwhile, Matt has responsibilities to other people: he has set himself the task of letting everyone else know what's happening to Joanie--their friends and family and, as he finds out, the man his wife has been having an affair with. Even he, Matt decides, has the right to say goodbye. Given the subject matter of Kaui Hart Hemmings's The Descendants, you might think that reading it would be a painful exercise, like slowly pulling a bandage off an infected sore. The book does have its tear-jerking moments, but surprisingly few of them, considering. Joanie, as we discover, was seriously flawed, so our sadness over her death is diluted. Our ambivalence--ours and Hemmings's characters'--makes the book far more realistic and interesting than it would have been if it were only the sad story of a blameless young mother's death. You might think, too, that Hemmings's story would drag, as very little happens in the book: Matt and his daughters and the older girl's boyfriend track down Joanie's lover, Matt spars with his in-laws, he worries about his ten-year-old's precocious sexuality, Joanie dies. But the drama comes in the development of the characters' personalities. All of the principals are fully fleshed out, and they are all changed by the experience of Joanie's death. The Descendants is very well-written and highly readable. Don't be turned off by its grim subject matter. -- Debra Hamel

This book was filled with humor, love, sadness and coming to terms with real life. I thoroughly enjoyed her voice, which is told in a man's point of view. It was nice to visit Hawaii in this story. I'll be watching for more from this author.

"The sun is shining, mynah birds are chattering, palm trees are swaying." The idyllic splendor of Hawaii is shattered for Matt King when his wife's somewhat hedonistic lifestyle catches up with her. After a boating accident, Joanie King is hospitalized in a coma with no chance of recovery. Matt begins informing family and friends of Joanie's imminent demise and while so doing, discovers that she has been having an affair. Should he, could he, invite his wife's lover to her bedside to say a final farewell? Despite this somber premise, the story, narrated by Matt King in the first person, is told in an easy-going style. Author Kaui Hart Hemmings' writing is fluid and compelling. The primary characters are Matt King and his two daughters, 10-year-old Scottie and teenaged Alex. Scottie's response to her mother's condition is to deliberately get herself stung by jellyfish. Alex is imbued with some of her mother's thrill-seeking tendencies. A recovering drug addict, she has been packed off to boarding school in an attempt to direct her life along more productive lines. When Matt plucks her back out of school, it's unclear as to whether or not she has completely kicked her self-destructive habit. Matt's realization that he now bears the sole burden of parental responsibility is both poignant and amusing as he is constantly flummoxed by his daughters' mood swings. As he tries to navigate his daughters through their emotional minefield, and to come to terms with his own feelings, another duty looms. His family is descended from Hawaiian royalty and some of their valuable land is proposed for sale. A number of property developers are eager to buy, and it is Matt's responsibility to decide, on his extended family's behalf, whose offer will be accepted. An emotional melting pot simmers with themes of love, loss, grief, greed and familial misunderstanding. There are a number of blackly humorous moments peppered throughout. Many of these come courtesy of Sid, Alex's tactless `not-quite' boyfriend whom she insists must accompany them throughout their ordeal. `The Descendants' is a fabulous read. With its almost paradisiacal location, it must have been tempting for the author to slip into travelogue mode at times, but she manages to keep the setting firmly implanted in the reader's mind without stemming the story's main thrust. Indeed, for a story whose central character is comatose, the narrative swims with life. Moving, sad and painfully funny, this novel is highly recommended.

The Descendants, Kaui Hemming's debut novel, stunned me. Hemmings manages to capture the innocence and cruelty at the heart of adolescence--I don't know how she managed to get the dialogue of Scottie and Alex so perfectly onto the page. And her range is great; she captures the silence, rage, and edgy beauty that laces tragedy. I found the King family utterly believable. If you buy one hardback fall, buy this book.

In many ways,The Descendants is a tragic tale. Matthew King is on the brink of losing everything -- his wife, his two daughters, property owned by his family for generations and, most of all, his dignity. In the midst of this, King learns his comatose wife was having an affair. As "descending" is defined, King's life is coming down, falling apart. This book is also about surviving, which Matthew King makes happen. He provides comfort and support for his daughters, confronts the lover, and makes the needed medical and financial decisions. Kaui Hart Hemmings' characters are so real it's hard to believe this is fiction. Though young, she's a magnificent writer who's able to tell the story through King's eyes. Her characters are alive, and I felt as if I were there with them. The Descendants is beautifully written by a brilliant and gifted author. I couldn't put it down. Laurie Ames Birnsteel Kahala