Kaaawa: A Novel about Hawaii in the 1850s

by O.A. Bushnell

Book Overview

"As beautiful as Hawaii itself, This novel approaches epic magnitude. The narrator is Hiram Nihoa, through whom the author pours his love for Hawaii. Nihoa tells the story of his travels around the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0824807294
• ISBN13: 9780824807290
• Release Date: July 1980
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
• Length: 520 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 4.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Compelling and engrossing reading

This well-crafted historical novel held me captive until I finished it. Descriptions of Oahu, native Hawaiians, haoles (foreigners), and the events of Hawaii in the 1850s seemed entirely authentic. I enjoyed the technique of two complementary stories, each told by the two primary characters (one Hawaiian, one Haole). I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Hawaii's people and history.

1st Rate Historical Fiction

As a native of Hawaii I found this book hard to put down. It's set in Hawaii in the 1850's, during a time when pressure from foreign powers created considerable turmoil within the Hawaiian royal house. What I like best is that the story is told in the person of a Hawaiian priest (and tutor to the Prince Liholiho). He has considerable, intricate, and savy knowledge of what goes on in Hawaii. Yet he too, like the powerful royal house he serves, is subject to political and cutural changes far beyond his control. The descriptions of the influenza and smallpox epidemics, and the manifestations of the rapidly vanishing old culture, are chilling.