Product Description
Stories weave together fact and fiction. The Big Island of Hawaii is gradually revealed by a man who moved from the mainland and soon finds out that mainland ideas don’t apply to Hawaii. In the process of adapting you get to meet people of Hawaii who share their proud history and local ways of living on the world’s largest active volcano…. More >>
#1 by E. Richesin on May 10, 2010 - 8:48 pm
This was a very enjoyable book. It was part travel log, part history as well as a captivating story. It gives one a great insight into the people and culture of the Island of Hawaii.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Tom Sawyer on May 10, 2010 - 11:27 pm
O.K., I confess. I was associated with the author at the time of completing this book. A talented travel writer, this was, I think, Wayne Stier’s first departure into the world of fiction. As a result, one gets a good feeling of what it’s like to travel to Hawaii, specifically “the Big Island”, with it’s rural atmosphere and cultural differences, along with a story based largely on the other’s own personal experiences. From the perspective of an outsider looking in the book portrays the author’s own feeling of awkwardness as a “haole” entering a world with many levels of cross-cultural history and identity. The humor in this juxtaposition is unavoidable.
There is enough actual history and information to give the visitor a good introduction to crossing into this world, which still applies today (over ten years after it’s publication), and enough of a story to make it entertaining. A good one for the hammock. There is a spiritual level to the story imparted by the “locals” the author meets, the questions he must face that go deeper than the casual tourist perspective, even while it floats lightly on the waves.
A kama’aina (native) might find some faults with the “pidgin” English, which has been simplified for easier reading. I still continue to enjoy re-reading this respectful look into life on the island of Hawaii, portrayed in it’s timelessness, dichotomies and surprises. One other problem – it’s getting hard to find this self-published book. If you’re lucky enough to find a copy it’s O.K. to share – but keep one for yourself!
Rating: 4 / 5