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Jasika's Reviews > Moloka'i
Moloka'i (Moloka'i, #1)
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Surely the worst book of which I have ever read half. I kept thinking, "No self-proclaimed best seller can be THIS bad...it's got to get better, its GOT to get BETTER!" But it didn't. I picked it up at the book store after visiting Lana'i, Hawaii for the first time and becoming enraptured by the culture and the land there, and fascinated by what the people must have been like pre-colonialism. From page one I knew there was little hope for this "historical fiction" book to be better than trite, but even worse was that it was BARELY educational. Very little historically accurate information was provided. I don't consider myself to be a very talented writer, but I found myself reworking every single page of this book that I read- it was like it didnt even have an editor that looked over it. The dialogue was the most laughable part, though. For a book that is supposed to take place in the early 1900's, I was completely appalled when the characters said things like "Hey" and "How's it going?" Its been a while since I took English Lit classes and paid attention to the vernacular of early settlers in new lands, but COME ON! British colonizers didn't use that language and neither would the Hawaiians that had been taught english. Terrible book, with a sappy, unbelievable story line and a bland preaching of morality. I considered it a waste of my time to have read as many pages of this book as I did, but I couldn't help it....I am an optimist :)
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
June 17, 2010
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Mark
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Oct 26, 2011 08:56PM
Ohhh, I feel ya. I read a book recently and F$ing FINISHED it!!! I just KNEW that there was going to be a twist at the end that justified the mounting furor I felt with each passing page...sigh. As a public service, please stay away from SON OF STONE by Stuart Woods. What blindsided me was that this was the gajillionth title in a series! A fairly GOOD series! It was like he pulled a Prince and released a crappy book to get out of a bad contract! Oooof - I hate to hijack your rant but - ugh! It was so bad I thought it was a prank...
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I felt exactly the same way, and gave up after half done as well. So many great reviews, but it fell WAY short of any of my expectations.
The end is really good though. Too bad you gave up. :)
As a native Hawai'ian (kanaka maoli) I found the Hawai'ian components of the book the very realistic. It's a little insulting that you fancy yourself an expert on historical fiction because you took a writing class about British imperialism and because the book is different you have determined it's incorrect. Hawai'ian culture isn't childishly basic where you can master it after a single class.
Thank you Kaile. I am only reading this to see what the ONE 1 star reviewer had to say! I recommended to my book club and I am reviewing tonight.I thought the author covered the historical facts for Hawaii, including the treatment of Hansen's disease. His characters were all well rounded believable people. If Michener had written this story it would gave been 3 times as long! This is a good manageable length.
I think people who do not read the book should not be giving a rating. It is like saying you dont like sprouts when you' e never even tried one!
Thank you Kaile. I am only reading this to see what the ONE 1 star reviewer had to say! I recommended to my book club and I am reviewing tonight.I thought the author covered the historical facts for Hawaii, including the treatment of Hansen's disease. His characters were all well rounded believable people. If Michener had written this story it would gave been 3 times as long! This is a good manageable length.
I think people who do not read the book should not be giving a rating. It is like saying you dont like sprouts when you' e never even tried one!
My apologies, i now see that 660 reviewers gave it 1 star. On the summary chart it appears so few compared with 4 and 5 star!
Totally agree with you! I couldn't get half way through! The dialogue...totally not plausable for the time period
Wow! I so disagree. I loved this book. I knew nothing about Moloka’i until reading this book. From what I have loooked up while reading, it seems very historically accurate. And a chance to learn about the horrible way people with leprosy were treated. As I found out today, there are still people with leprosy who still live there and have never left the island.
Rather than accusing someone else of being uneducated, it may be better to educate yourself instead and see if you might be wrong in judging the author. I spotted a few minor anachronisms, such as a mention of Hermann Hesse probably read in translation when his works had not yet been translated at the time, but overall this is very well researched. There were passages for example about the Japanese internment camps that were almost verbatim what a survivor told us at a lecture we attended last week. Furthermore, if you look at Google books, you will find the phrase "How's it going" used plenty of times well into the early 1800s, and that is in books, let alone in spoken dialogue. Phrases like that, and simple english, we're also commonly used by the immigrants who came to Hawaii who spoke limited English. You may want to consider editing your review, rather than encouraging the author to edit his book, if you are concerned with inaccuracies.
Felt this way about White Oleander. Horrible book despite all the great reviews.
Agree, but maybe reading the book might be better. I listened to the audiobook. The narrator’s voice was so dull and the book’s pace was so slow that I finally gave up. Added to my DNF list.
