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librarygirlreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bridnich's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
dorothy_dickerson's review against another edition
Liked the story. There were times when thoughts ran together, and there were desperate need of more comas. I know it was probably meant to show how rushed and frantic thoughts can be but for the sake of clarity....punctuate!
marcymurli's review against another edition
2.0
I had really wanted to like this book more than I did. I enjoyed the historical elements of the novel, learning about the details of Hawai'i's colonisation and resistance to it. But I wanted more of that built into the narrative. Unfortunately, so many of the characters were either not engaging or repugnant (the one who kills whales and resorts to cannibalism). I think the chapters were not as cohesive as they could have been and the same can be said for the characters' lives.
hnagarne's review against another edition
my library loan expired but i’ll probably come back to this eventually?
nj1960's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a beautiful complicated read of the history of Hawaii told through one very strong and complicated character the book is not an easy read but well worth it for the history of a beautiful and misunderstood place the islands of Hawaii… this authors writing is poetic but she doesn’t pull any punches and tells hard truths.
incunabula_and_intercourse's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Read for my personal Jewish/AAPI readathon for May.
Oddly enough, not exactly in the vein of other magical realist family sagas I've read. Not to say it's the worst, but I fear that the interesting cast, complex relationships, and tense family drama wasn't presented in the best way.
In other family sagas, the story is presented in a linear fashion, to give parallels and plotlines room to develop and grow. The constant jumping and summarizing of entire backstories almost had the effect of flattening out the characters and making the parallels too obvious.
Also? Way too much sex. It kinda bugged me in Confessions of the Fox, but seeing as it's all about the criminalization of underclasses including sex workers and LGBTQ people, it makes sense. Here, you could find yourself in the middle of a detailed, two page sex scene for no reason. And even with the weird kinky shit that Rachel and Hiro get up to, they all sound exactly the same after a while. The House of the Spirits has a lot of sex, too, but Allende knew when to condense and summarize. We didn't need graphic descriptions of exactly how Blanca and Pedro Tercero fucked to get that they're fucking; a few poetically vague paragraphs will suffice.
And as for the prose, while it was often very beautiful, it relied a bit too much on run-ons for my taste. I get that this is just a magical realism family saga thing—I'll never forget Spirit's two-page sentence, lol—but these ones are frequent and noticable with to bug me. The ebook is also sadly lousy with typos—not every single page, but again, enough to be noticable.
Overall, the history was powerful, as were the final 150-odd pages when the plot really began to kick into high gear. But this could have—and should have—easily lost a quarter of its girth in order to really hit hard.
Oddly enough, not exactly in the vein of other magical realist family sagas I've read. Not to say it's the worst, but I fear that the interesting cast, complex relationships, and tense family drama wasn't presented in the best way.
In other family sagas, the story is presented in a linear fashion, to give parallels and plotlines room to develop and grow. The constant jumping and summarizing of entire backstories almost had the effect of flattening out the characters and making the parallels too obvious.
Also? Way too much sex. It kinda bugged me in Confessions of the Fox, but seeing as it's all about the criminalization of underclasses including sex workers and LGBTQ people, it makes sense. Here, you could find yourself in the middle of a detailed, two page sex scene for no reason. And even with the weird kinky shit that Rachel and Hiro get up to, they all sound exactly the same after a while. The House of the Spirits has a lot of sex, too, but Allende knew when to condense and summarize. We didn't need graphic descriptions of exactly how Blanca and Pedro Tercero fucked to get that they're fucking; a few poetically vague paragraphs will suffice.
And as for the prose, while it was often very beautiful, it relied a bit too much on run-ons for my taste. I get that this is just a magical realism family saga thing—I'll never forget Spirit's two-page sentence, lol—but these ones are frequent and noticable with to bug me. The ebook is also sadly lousy with typos—not every single page, but again, enough to be noticable.
Overall, the history was powerful, as were the final 150-odd pages when the plot really began to kick into high gear. But this could have—and should have—easily lost a quarter of its girth in order to really hit hard.
reikista's review against another edition
4.0
The story of a Hawaiian family, beginning with a lost, poor man of Dutch descent and an escaping Tahitian princess, who live in the jungles and begin an empire. The main characters are Pono, a Kahuna, descendant of the two founders, and committed to the land, in love with Duke, who suffers Leprosy, and the granddaughters she has worked to bring back to the island. It is a story of suspense, emotion, and magic.
Learned of Hawaiian history and politics, coffee plantations, leprosy and its treatment, race relations & racism, colonialism, terrorism, heroin, yakuza, south pacific issues, surviving in the jungle, Hawaiian geography and legends, magical realism; relations with Philippines, Japanese, Chinese.
Learned of Hawaiian history and politics, coffee plantations, leprosy and its treatment, race relations & racism, colonialism, terrorism, heroin, yakuza, south pacific issues, surviving in the jungle, Hawaiian geography and legends, magical realism; relations with Philippines, Japanese, Chinese.
karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
I really like Davenport's writing style. Back in 2015 I read her books of short stories, which were set in different Pacific Islands, including Hawai'i, but this book is set mostly in Hawai'i. I am glad I read this right after visiting the islands, because it refreshed my memory of the sights we had visited. This book is Historical Fiction and the first part of the book was just lovely, but I didn't enjoy the latter chapters as much, so the book was a bit uneven for me. Definitely worth reading.
antjerook's review against another edition
5.0
Eines der wenigen Buecher, das ich mehr als drei mal gelesen habe