A friend's review of The Vegeance of Kahekili
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I really love your book The Vengeance of Kahekili. I wish I was a book reviewer or critic so I could give you worthy comments but I guess I’ll stick with my inarticulate thoughts.
First, when your books arrived, thought I would pay a visit to each before diving in. But started with Vengeance and found myself totally engrossed. It’s a fascinating story and you really have done an excellent job capturing it. I am a big history nut and read lots of fiction and non-fiction history. My favorite is historical fiction with accurate facts but enough imagination to make the characters and events come alive, aka your book and things like Hillary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.
I’ve not read a lot on Hawaiian history other than Michener’s Hawaii and Sarah Vowell’s Unfamiliar Fishes. Most of my history knowledge focuses on Europe and the Americas with smatterings of everywhere else on earth. My only recollection from Michener is the geological development of the islands. Sarah Vowell’s book focuses on a later period and the Americanization (theft) of Hawaii. So I enjoyed learning about the earlier more authentic Hawaii.
What I find so interesting in your book are the intricacies of the Hawaiian culture and politics before the real onslaught of traders and Missionaries. Most accounts and/or images portray ancient Hawaii as an idyllic peaceful culture (& ecologically responsible) that was decimated by the Europeans & Americans. You present a picture of incredible brutality and a warrior culture that permeates all the islands and tribes. I was really shocked by the magnitude of destruction the Hawaiians brought upon themselves with all their warring. So different from the enduring image. The integration of traditional Hawaiian religion, gods, customs, ceremonies, titles and social hierarchy of that era is quite fascinating.
I love your complex character development as it lends motivation to actions that otherwise seem illogical. Ka’eokulani, in particular, is a complicated victim of Kahekili, current politics and his own weaknesses. He, of all the characters, makes the infighting understandable while still irrational on many levels. Kamohomoho is my favorite character as he embodies wisdom and cunning as the ultimate warrior with a human side.
And of course there’s the man you love to hate, the smarmy Captain William Brown. Loved the section on pages 379-380 on his musings about Kendrick’s death. It starts describing Brown as a man who does not feel guilt. But then he seems so horrified by his own actions that he might finally feel remorse and guilt ridden. But by the end he’s worked out how it all benefits him. Great writing.
I cannot imagine the dedication behind researching and writing this book! But it does read like a labor of love. I am thoroughly enjoying it.
