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The historical fiction novel Hawaii by James A. Michener is a very long book. It takes a commitment to get through it with only one renewal on Libby (the library ebook app allows one renewal). But it is very much worth reading. I had read his book Alaska prior to our trip to Alaska in 2024 and had regretted not reading Hawaii before our trip to Hawaii the year before. But since I am returning to Hawaii for a shorter trip next month, I decided to not miss the opportunity again. I was a little disappointed that Michener jumped from when the Polynesians arrived on the islands to when the missionaries arrived. I would have liked to dig more into the history of the original inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands. But I have to admit the book was long enough. The reader will need to look for another book about the earlier history of Hawaii. The interesting thing about this particular historical novel is that it delves into the race relations of the various ethnic groups on the island. There were several groups. The Polynesian people that first arrived are considered Hawaiian. The missionaries that came in the early to mid 1800s and proceeded to destroy the Hawaiin culture and take over control of the islands for more than one hundred years. The Chinese, Japanese and Philippine people who were brought to Hawaii by the descendants of the missionaries to be migrant workers in sugar cane and pineapple fields. Michener brings into the story health crisis' such as plague and Hansen's disease. And he weaves in the story the financial fabric that maintained the social hierarchy of the area. Which used control of the land much like the feudal system in England centuries before. There is a lot of meat to discuss in this book. The only short coming I see is that it leaves out the Hawaiian's history. Please click on the author's name above to follow the links to more information. And enjoy the video that follows.
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