Wednesday Matinee

Destinations: France, England, Hawaii

Movies: The Descendants, Hugo, and War Horses

Reviews by Jane Boursaw

If there’s one thing we can count on around the holidays, it’s lots of great movies with fabulous locations. Let’s take a look at a few movies that had me going, “Wow, I have to include this in my Wednesday Matinee column at A Traveler’s Library!”

Hugo, the Movie

Hugo (Directed by Martin Scorsese; 126 min.; rated PG for mild thematic material, some action/peril and smoking; 5 out of 5 Reels). Only the master of film himself, Martin Scorsese, could make a family movie that involves the history of filmmaking. The reason it works as a family movie is because Scorsese slyly blends the history of filmmaking with a very human story about loss, hope and new beginnings.

And yes, the best movies start with a great story, so it helps that this one is based on Brian Selznick’s Caldecott-winning novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It tells the story of Hugo (Asa Butterfield), a 12-year-old orphan living within the walls of a Paris train station in the 1930s. He’s a good boy who’s trying to make the best of things after losing his dad (Jude Law) in a tragic fire and being sent to live with his drunken Uncle Claude (Ray Winstone) who keeps the clocks running at the station.

After his uncle abandons him, Hugo continues caring for the clocks and survives by swiping scones from vendor carts and dodging the stern Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) who stomps around with his leg brace and scary Doberman. But Hugo’s real passion is his beloved automaton, and he steals parts to fix the mechanical man his dad rescued from museum archives before his death.

Hugo is not only a beautiful story about a time in France’s post-war history when movies were melted down to make shoe heels, but the attention to 1930s-era detail is magnificent. There’s the fairy tale train station that bustles with activity. The complex inner workings of the massive clocks. Bakery carts filled with warm scones and buns. Wooden armoires with ornate carvings. Wise librarians who love books. And women in knitted berets selling flowers. The whole movie has a Dickensian feel to it.

Where You’ll Want to Travel:

• La Sorbonne, Paris 5, Paris, France
• Peterborough Train Station, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England
• Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London, England

2. War Horse (Directed by Steven Spielberg; 146 min.; rated PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence; 4 out of 5 Reels). If you’ve seen enough Steven Spielberg movies, you can almost spot one at a glance. Lush production with authentic locations, attention to the smallest detail, gorgeous cinematography by longtime collaborator Janusz Kaminski, epic score by John Williams, well-cast actors and believable dialogue. War Horse has all that and more, set against the backdrop of World War I in rural England.

Based on a 1982 children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo and a 2007 stage adaptation, the story begins with English teenager Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) watching the birth of a beautiful colt near his rural farm. Despite his best efforts to get the colt to warm up to him, it doesn’t happen, and the young horse is sent off to auction.

Cut to the auction site, and Albert’s father Ted (Peter Mullan) gets caught up in a bidding war against his curmudgeonly landlord Mr. Lyons (David Thewlis). Even though what Ted really needs is a sturdy plow horse, he ends up using the family’s rent money to outbid Lyons on the young Thoroughbred, much to the chagrin of his long-suffering wife Rose (Emily Watson).

But Albert is thrilled and agrees to train “Joey” to pull a farm plow so the family can plant turnips and pay the rent after the fall harvest. But when a rainstorm damages the crop, Ted is forced to do the unthinkable – go behind Albert’s back and sell Joey to a cavalry officer, Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston), who promises to look after the horse and, if possible, return him to Albert’s care after the war.

But Joey’s journey takes some unexpected turns, as we follow him through a misguided battle, on the run with two young German soldiers, in the care of a French farm girl, pulling heavy artillery up a hill for the German army, and smack in the middle of a battlefield in 1918, where a small moment in the midst of war gives hope that perhaps two opposing armies can work together.

Spielberg doesn’t gloss over the horrors of war. We see muddy battlefields strewn with dead humans and horses, a German gas attack that takes soldiers by surprise, and horses that are shot after they collapse from exhaustion. It’s hard to watch, and I don’t recommend it for kids younger than 14 or anyone who gets squeamish about war scenes and brutality against animals.

I love how the story follows Joey’s journey through several people, but circles back around to Albert, who enlists in the army as soon as he’s old enough, with the hope that he’ll find his beloved horse again. Both Joey and Albert are noble, brave and don’t shirk from their duties and responsibilities.

Where You’ll Want to Travel:

• Bourne Woods, Farnham, Surrey, England
• Castle Combe, Wiltshire, England
• Dartmoor, Devon, England
• Devon, England
• Luton Hoo Estate, Luton, Bedfordshire, England
• Meavy, Devon, England
• Wisley Airfield, Wisley, Surrey, England

3. The Descendants(Directed by Alexander Payne; 115 min.; rated R for language, including some sexual references; 5 out of 5 Reels). On screen or off, George Clooney always has that trademark suave air about him. He’s a debonair ringleader who organizes big casino heists (Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen),  a smooth talker who flies around the country firing people (Up in the Air), an escaped convict searching for hidden treasure (O Brother, Where Art Thou?). Never a hair out of place, especially in that last movie. Remember his penchant for Dapper Dan hair cream?

Scene from The Descendants

But The Descendants offers a different view of Mr. Clooney — a vulnerable father of two who’s piecing life back together while his wife lies comatose in a hospital bed following a boating accident. Clooney’s character, Matt King, has always been “the back-up parent,” the one who’s never around long enough to know what kind of ice cream his youngest daughter Scottie (Amara Miller) likes, or what his teenager Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) does while away at boarding school.

And it’s just the sort of role that will turn Clooney into a true movie star, not just another pretty face among the Brad Pitts and Matt Damons of Hollywood, not just the guy who always takes the big, high-profile roles. Or maybe The Descendants IS Clooney’s high-profile role in its regular-guy simplicity.

You can tell he’s sort of been heading that way in the past few years, reaching out for different types of roles. In The American, he played a cold-hearted killer (did anyone like him in that role? I didn’t). And in The Ides of March, Governor Mike Morris may have been eloquent on the surface, but he was swimming an ocean of dirty politics.

But I’m not sure how much of an argument I can make here, considering that Clooney’s movie career started out with gigs on The Facts of Life, Baby Talk and Roseanne. I guess he’s been a renaissance man from the start, willing to try anything to further his craft.

The Descendants is a superb movie. As a bonus, we get to see the lush Hawaiian islands of O’ahu and Kaua’i, where it was filmed (there’s a subplot about Clooney’s family selling off a huge piece of prime real estate). And if you’re worried about bawling your eyes out, I can tell you that I usually find something to cry about in every movie, but this one didn’t strike me that way. Part of it’s because we never really get to know Matt’s wife, played by Patricia Hastie, who spends most of the movie in a coma.

The Descendants also has enough humor to keep it from getting too maudlin. Shailene Woodley is wonderful as Matt’s older daughter. Finally, she gets a chance to shine beyond her one-note character on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Amara Miller is just as wonderful as Matt’s younger daughter. They seem like a real family you’d know from the neighborhood.

And special mention must be made of Nick Krause, who plays Alexandra’s friend Sid. He turned what could have been a clichéd teenage-slacker role into something much more meaningful. There are no stereotypes in The Descendants. Everyone seems like a real person, doing the best they can with the circumstances they’re given.

Where You’ll Want to Travel:

• Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii
• Kaua’i, Hawaii

Jane Boursaw is a family entertainment writer specializing in movies and TV. Visit her at ReelLifeWithJane or email jboursaw@charter.net.

Today’s prize to one person who comments, subscribes, tweets or mentions us on Google+ is a copy of Casablanca, 85th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition. Tons of bonus features, including Exclusive Passport Holder and Luggage Tag; 48-Page Photo Book; 10 One-Sheet Reproduction Cards; and Archival Correspondence.  Is that an incredible prize, or what?? (You can comment on this post or on an earlier post. Just do it before Thursday, January 12, 3:00 a.m. MST. If you already subscribe by e-mail and want an extra entry as a subscriber, be sure to tell me that in the comments. See complete rules here.) 

Thank you Jane for introducing these three movies and for offering the DVD set of Casablanca for one VERY lucky reader of A Traveler’s Library.

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Remembering how much we love beignets in New Orleans

Jennifer Close–mom, educator, writer, traveler– who writes Two Kids and a Map, has agreed to write about family travel at least once a month for A Traveler’s Library.  Jennifer is the only one of the new contributors I did not know when we started our adventure, but she was recommended by a family travel writer I highly admire, Mara Gorman of Mother of All Trips.  Reading through Jennifer’s blog (and what a great name it has!), I knew that we were soul mates.  Her descriptions of her travels with her mother (follow links below) took me right back to family trips with MY mother. Her first entry here, about aquariums, was very popular with the readers and you’ll see as you read her answers below why she is such a great fit for A Traveler’s Library. Welcome aboard, Jennifer.

A Traveler’s Library: Which came first–travel or writing?

Jennifer Close: The travel definitely came before the writing but only because my parents began traveling with me when I was a baby.  For as long as I can remember, I have always loved writing essays and short stories.  I used to sit for hours and journal in my many diaries (all with special locks and hidden in just the right place so my sister couldn’t find them).

ATL: How does your family’s travel style differ from the way your mother and father (and siblings?) traveled when you were young?

Trying kayaking for the First Time

JC: When I was growing up, a lot of the trips that we made were focused on family or moving.  We always lived far away from extended family so our vacations were spent visiting them when we could.  I grew up in a military family so we moved pretty regularly.  When we moved, it was always across country: Florida to California; California to Virginia; Hawaii to Florida.  Each of those trips involved an extensive road trip where we always visited roadside attractions, stayed at hotels with pools, and ate picnic lunches at rest stops. My family’s travel style doesn’t differ too much from the way my parents traveled except we are lucky enough to live near most family so we don’t always have to use our vacation time to visit them.  We are able to visit places that we really want to see in addition to visiting family.  My mom instilled a love of getting lost, trying new things and enjoying the drive as much as the destination and I hope that we are doing the same for our kids.

ATL: Is there a place you are waiting to take your kids when they get older?

J.C.: I dream about taking my children on an African safari.  We have family friends who run the Mission of Love Orphanage in Zambia.  I am putting our pennies away to hopefully someday take my family to Zambia to volunteer at the orphanage for some time and then go on a safari trip.  I think that I would like my kids to be around 10 and 12 years old for this trip.  They are 5 and 7 years old right now so we have some time to save!

ATL: Is there a trip you’d like to make WITHOUT the kids?

J.C.: For our tenth anniversary, my husband and I went to Hawaii.  We had an amazing time on that trip but our young children still haven’t forgiven us for leaving them behind!  They are planning a trip to Hawaii with us and are hoping that we will follow through!  There isn’t anywhere in particular that I would like to go without the kids but I do believe that traveling without the kids is important.  It helps me remember why I married my husband!

ATL:Are your kids eager to travel, or are they more “Do I HAVE to?”

J.C.: Both of my children are eager travelers.  Whenever we tell them we have a surprise for them, the first question they always ask is “Are we going on a trip?”  If we have been home for three or four weeks, they start asking when we are going to stay in a hotel next.  I am sure that as they get older there will be a lot more of the complaining about traveling with us.  I hope that our trips are so enticing that they are willing to give up social activities to join us without complaining!

ATL: What do you wish someone had told you about family travel before you went on a trip with your kids?

J.C.: The main thing I wish someone had told us about family travel was not to panic and to remember that there are kids everywhere.  When my son was ten months old, we took him to Europe.  We did a whirlwind trip through many different countries on our own with him.  When I was packing back in the states, I was so worried about bringing enough diapers, baby food, and more.  Even though I thought I had planned perfectly, we ran out of everything and had to shop in the local stores.  We didn’t have a problem finding what we needed and could have saved on our luggage space.

ATL:  In what ways is family travel actually easier than traveling just with adults?

Visiting Legoland in FLorida

J.C.: Traveling with my children is much easier than traveling with other adults.  It is easier to compromise with my children.  We don’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings or missing out on something that we want to do.  Recently, I have made several trips by myself with my kids.  I thought that it would be really difficult and that it would stress me out but we did well and made some great memories.

ATL:  Have you ever gone on a guided trip for families? or stayed at a family camp? Is that better or worse than independent travel for families?

J.C.: We much prefer independent travel.  I don’t want to be on anyone else’s schedule when I travel with my family and I want to be able to change my mind at any moment.  The closest we came to a guided trip or family camp was a recent stay at the High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, North Carolina.  The High Hampton Inn and cottages sit on a lake where kids can swim, canoe, play on the playground and more.  Meal times are loosely scheduled for you as are the daily activities that you can choose from.  Think summer camp for families à la Dirty Dancing (at least that is what it made me think of!).  Even though there are daily activities and meal times, there is also a lot of flexibility.  If you are heading out for a hike, you can order a boxed lunch.  If you don’t like volleyball, you can skip the scheduled game.  This is probably as close as we are going to get to a guided trip…at least until our safari!

Learning about the shrimping industry on a shrimp boat in Biloxi.

ATL:  What have your kids taught YOU about travel?

J.C.: My kids have taught me to look for adventure around every corner.  I thought that I was teaching them that but they have helped my husband and I to slow down and appreciate what is in front of us.  We often visit places and attractions that we might not have put on our itinerary before we had kids like playgrounds and fountains.  They also remind us daily that we don’t have to travel to far-flung destinations to have a real adventure.  We can adventure in our own backyard.

Jennifer Close took all of these pictures and holds the copyright. Please do not reproduce without express permission. Thank you.

When Jennifer started talking about her mother and the picnic tablecloths (see link above) I wondered if she was actually a younger sister in my family that I somehow missed. It all sounds SO familiar! Road trips, getting lost, trying new things, seeing new places–it was all part of our life growing up. How did your family travel experiences as a child shape the way you travel today?

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Hawaii Path, Kalopa State Park

Destination: Hawaii

Book: The Shark Dialogues by Kiana Davenport

A GUEST POST BY Kris Bordessa

Try as you might, when you plug a mainland address into Mapquest with an address ending on any of the Hawaiian Islands, you’ll get a message saying that they can’t find a suitable vehicular route. Very true. And yet, how can America’s 50^th state be left out of the road trip fun here at A Traveler’s Library?

♦NOTE: As with every state we have visited, Music Road provides the musical accompaniment. This time Kerry had a little help from Kris Bordessa’s son, a  musician in Hawaii. ♦

Hawaii’s the only place in the good old U S of A where you can catch views of red-hot lava flows and snow-capped peaks all in the same day. Suffice it to say that once you’ve made it to the islands, there’s plenty of road trippin’ to be had.

Hawaii is really two different places. For visitors, it’s very often a place to get away from it all. It’s hammocks and beaches and pink umbrella drinks. Hawaii is a fabulous vacation destination, but the nuances of the island are often lost on travelers with a limited time to spend here. They’ll get a kick out of the big Hawaiian guy flashing a shaka and chattering in Pidgin, usually incomprehensible to the uninitiated.

Hawaii Sunrise by Kris Bordessa

They’ll ooh and ahh over glorious sunsets

and run their toes through the sand,

Kaunaoa Beach at Mauna Kea

and they’ll be charmed by Hawaiian tunes plucked out on the ‘ukulele.

But beneath these visible elements of the islands runs a deep rhythm, a rhythm that often goes unheard by visitors intent on not missing a thing. The other Hawaii, the true Hawaii, has a rich cultural history. From the first human inhabitants of the island through an embarrassing overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom by the United States of America and the modernization of the most remote islands in the world, Hawaiian mythology has been a constant.

In Shark Dialogues, author Kiana Davenport offers readers a chance to discover the low drumbeat of rhythm that is Hawaii. While fictional, the novel depicts Hawaii’s history from the first missionaries to the modern era while presenting the stories of several generations of powerful Hawaiian women. Pono, family matriarch, kahuna, and central character in the book, laments the fact that her offspring have left tradition behind, marrying non-Hawaiians and scattering across the globe. When her four granddaughters converge on the Big Island, they discover family ties and a compelling connection with their island home.

Finally, she sat down with them, shoveling food between her great nicotine-stained teeth. Only then did Pono visibly relax. And in that magisterial repose, a signal: the other four relaxed, looked round the place, its windswept lanai. Only then did they glimpse the orchards, fields of “Kona snow” billowing out toward cliffs and far below the sea. Only then did they feel the ocean in water-haunted sunlight that lay across each room, making objects shiver. And only then did each woman feel impervious to the outside world, as the house closed round them.

With interwoven story lines, this saga explores the passion and heartbreak of relationships from the leper colony at Kalaupapa to the Yazuka, an organized crime ring in Japan, all the while paying homage to the mysticism of Hawaii. The book’s honest portrayal of the culture and diversity of the islands is an invitation to discover the heart of Hawaii.

If you’re planning a trip to Hawaii – or just dreaming of one – Shark Dialogues is a must-read. Peppered with Hawaiian language (a helpful glossary at the back of the book) and place names, the book wraps readers in an island breeze and submerges them in the blue Pacific. Listen closely and you might even hear that oft-missed rhythmic drumbeat of the islands.

Kris Bordessa

Kris Bordessa, an author and features writer, lives on the Big Island of Hawaii where she is working – day by day –  toward a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

THANKS, KRIS! Sounds like a great book!

Ken and I once took a road trip through Kauai  in a bright red convertible. It was so appropriate for that colorful and fun place. AND, we stayed in the hotel where Elvis filmed Blue Hawaii. (No longer in operation, I’m sorry to say). But for now, I’ll just watch the new Hawaii Five-O. The opening credits scenery is worth watching!

Next Wednesday, I’ll say a proper farewell to The Great American Road Trip, but for now, let’s concentrate on Hawaii. What’s your favorite island? Been there? Or just dreaming?

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

Looking Back

I want to share with you the Best of December and of 2009 at A Traveler’s Library. That includes the ten posts that drew the most traffic in 2009, the readers who left more than five comments during the month of December, and the sites that referred readers most frequently in the last month of the year.

What a year it has been. I started blogging in January, and changed platforms and themes in June. I joined the Twitter Nation, and started learning about Stumble Upon. I bonded with new friends who were blogging, twittering and stumbling all over the place (and that was BEFORE cocktail hour). My traffic has been on a slow, steady uptick. I added advertising to the blog and have yet to cash a check–although one is coming in February. Yay!!

Most Popular Posts

El Capitan, Yosemite National Park

1. Skipping over the Ten Perfect Gifts post and another post that got traffic for all the wrong reasons, The Top 5 American Road Trip Books continues to draw interest daily. Curious? Sure, check it out.

2. Free Day at National Parks and a Mystery Novel might have drawn traffic because of the word “free”, but I hope some of that continuing traffic is because the mysteries written by Nevada Barr about National Parks are worth reading. This one is High Country about Yosemite.

Calcata, Italy, picture by David Farley

3. A Book About a Bizarre Quest in Italy reviewed the book Irreverent Curiosity by David Farley–a very popular read about a strange town with an even stranger religious relic. (And somebody won a copy yesterday.)

4. A guest post, Books Help Children Adjust to Japan, about three children’s books on Japan continues to draw interest. Thank you Christine Gross-Loh, who blogs about her life in Japan with her children at Origami Mommy.

5. Ten Posts from the First 100 is popular, and I think that is great, because I listed ten of my first 100 posts that I liked, whether they were eye-magnets or not.

Walk in the woods in U.P. Michigan

6. Hiawatha: American Classic Poem for Children–I’m happy to have this American classic on the list, this time in a version for children. And particularly happy that it might be drawing attention to an extremely talented editor and illustrator, Susan Jeffers.

7. Ancient Rome in Literature draws term paper researchers? People looking for a photo of the Roman forum? Who knows? Maybe you, like me, just like Coleen McCullough‘s fictional recreations of ancient Rome, in the Masters of Rome series.

8. Unsworth on a Greek Island–Another classic, this time a Travel Classic, Pascali’s Island by Barry Unsworth. This was part of a series of travel classics that I wrote about, and I would not have bet on this to be the leader.

9. Steinbeck and McMurtry Hit the Road–another post about road trips. You do like road trips, don’t you? This one says why I love John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley, and why I don’t love Roads by Larry McMurtry (whose work I otherwise admire).

10. A Book Takes Movie Walks in Paris. Congratulations, Marlys, your husband’s book made the list. I reviewed Paris Movie Walks by Michael Shurman both here and for the Indie Travel PodCast Magazine.

Readers Who Comment (lots)

The lovely and astute readers who came back often and contributed to our conversations 5 or more times in December:

Jessie Voigts. As I said last month–”Month in and month out, this busy lady drops by and says “Hi” and comments on a post.” 12 times in December!

Alexandra Grabbe shared her thoughts 8 times in December.

Kerry Dexter, Brett Sember, and Stephanie Stiavetti all are back on the list for the 2nd time and Alisa Bowman and Donna Hull joined them in the month of December. Wow! Seven people who commented at least five times each. That’s a lot of discussion.

An amazing number of individuals shared their thoughts this past month. Thanks to all who leave comments, and bloggers, don’t forget that Comment Luv puts a little teaser from your latest blog after your comment, to draw traffic back to you.

Want to see Your name in lights next month? Never too soon to start commenting. And of course this month, you can win prizes when you comment.

Those Who Sent Traffic Our Way

In case you have ever wondered about the usefulness of blog rolls, read on…

Passports With Purpose, the exciting project that built a school in Cambodia. People were checking out my prizes of a stay at the Monteleone Hotel and a Periscope Book Light in a Cover.

My Itchy Travel Feet, the travel blog with gorgeous photos aimed at boomers with soft adventure in mind.

Chez Sven The green Bed and Breakfast on Cape Cod run by Alexandra Grabbe, who was a guest poster in November and an interview subject in December, and who writes intelligent posts about innkeeping and the environment.

Slow Travel I love the way a friend I made on Twitter has become a fan of A Traveler’s Library. (The feeling is mutual about the site, Slow Travel). But here’s what I really love. When Slow Trav forums (Slow Talk) readers come here–they stay around for a really long time. Thanks, pals!

Linked In referred quite a bit of traffic last month for some reason. Christmas shoppers?

So there you have it. The people who make this blog keep on going-and going-and going.

The Last Aloha cover, a painting by Princess Ka'iulani

Great Big Giveaway Book Today: The Last Aloha, a revealing historic novel by Gaellen Quin. Take an armchair trip to Hawaii and learn things you never knew about the 50th state. For instance, the member of Hawaii’s royal household painted this picture. See my review here. Leave a comment below naming the book in today’s Giveaway[don't forget that step], to win this book and be entered in the Grand Prize drawing.To find other things you can do to win, check the dates, etc., check the contest announcement page here.

Remember, a NEW PRIZE Friday, so be sure to come back every day. And if you subscribe by e-mail, you get THREE chances at the grand prize. Good Luck!

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The Last Aloha cover, a painting by Princess Ka'iulani

Destination: Hawaii

Book: The Last Aloha by Gaellen Quinn

Not everyone intends to party at the celebration of Hawaii’s 50th Birthday of Statehood today. Hawaiian history carries a sting that most travelers will not be aware of.  Despite the fact that I have visited Hawaii, I certainly had only the vaguest idea of the history of statehood until I read [amazonify]1935448005::text:::: The Last Aloha[/amazonify] by Gaellen Quinn.

This meticulously researched historical novel presents the inside story via a fictional lead character, Laura Jennings, who lands in a third-generation Hawaiian missionary family after losing her father and fiancé in a carriage accident in San Francisco. She learns that these late nineteenth century families have grown wealthy in mercantile and government roles in this last generation.

Laura’s travel to Hawaii as a naive young woman gives the author plenty of opportunity for exposition as people explain the ins and outs of culture and politics in Hawaii. While this book provides education, the presentation of facts sometimes leads to awkward overloading of conversations so they are not as natural as one would hope.

Besides conveniently serving as a nanny in her Uncle’s home, he a lecherous in-law who is deeply involved in the politics of protection of American businessmen on Hawaii, Laura also becomes a nanny and close friend of Princess Ka’iulani, and later secretary to Queen Lili’uokalni, the princess’ aunt. The positions, of course, make her privy to all that is happening behind the scenes as the great powers struggle over Hawaii, and the native people get trampled by the financial power of the descendants of the first missionaries.

Appealing scenes from the islands, full of heavily scented flowers and the relaxed and mystical life of the native Hawaiians no doubt will entice the reader to visit Hawaii. However, I am betting that the book will be super controversial in Hawaii itself.

The story of how Hawaii became a state, despite its great distance from the mainland of the United States, makes me cringe, and I am not the only one. Movie producers had hoped to capitalize on the anniversary of statehood with a film about Ka’iulani, the Last Princess of Hawaii, who is an important character in this book.  But the subject has inflamed the native Hawaiians and the producers have pushed back the release date several times, even though the director changed the name from Barbarian Princess. Gee, wonder why that would upset anyone?

Quinn has worked hard to cover the period honestly, and to weave real life characters in with fictional ones. It is a big job for a first time novelist, and the strain shows in some awkwardness.   While I enjoyed learning the historical background, the scaffolding shows a bit to much for this to be an seamlessly smooth literary experience of the kind you get with an E. L. Doctorow novel.

Despite my reservations, I am glad that the publicist sent me this book so that I could fill in some blanks left by reading James Michener‘s Hawaii.

If you are moved to visit Hawaii and look into the history in person, you can also (perhaps) commune with the spirit of the Princess on the site of her estate, which has been replaced by the high-rise Sheraton Princess Kaiulani.

P. S. I would be remiss not to mention that in 2008, The Last Aloha was a Texas manuscript winner in historical fiction in the Texas Writers’ League contest and was a semi-finalist in the Amazon.com/Penguin Books Novel Contest.

Now it is your turn…would you like to know more about Hawaii history, or are you inclined to say, “Leave me alone with my Mai Tai on the beach?”

More articles about islands: Unsworth on a Greek Island Hot Days, Thinking of Islands, Caribbean Islands Blasket Islands, Ireland ,Novels Set on a Greek Island

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.