Frederick B. Wichman

Initially I didn't enjoy this as much as Wichman's previous volume, "Kauai Tales". The stories here are mostly historical legends rather than fairy tales, which don't have quite the same appeal for me. On the other hand, it was interesting to see some of the characters make an appearance in several tales, which provides context and complexity to the stories.
As before, the storytelling and format of the book is elegant as well as entertaining, all the more worthwhile because the stories are otherwise unknown.… (lisätietoja)

It's often difficult to find collections of folklore from non-European cultures, so it was a real treat to discover this at a used book sale. The stories, which take place somewhere in the region between legend and myth, are refreshingly unfamiliar, but not so unfamiliar as to alienate the reader. There are old motifs, made new again in the Hawaiian setting: "Ka-lau-he'e", for example, is the story of a lonely girl who is shunned because of her ugliness but whose heart-felt prayers win her a squid-god as a lover. "Holua-manu", which tells how a tiny Menahune helps a young man complete the impossible tasks required of him, resembles so much its European counterparts that I wonder whether there might be some European influence. And yet the story, with its descriptions of the dangerous sport of holua sliding, is thoroughly Hawaiian. Wichman's narration is effortless and seems perfectly natural, and he writes with what is undoubtably intimate knowledge of his subject matter. He uses a number of native words in the stories, but it such a way that their approximate meaning is clear in the context and they add to the atmosphere rather than being distracting. There's also a glossary at the end for the curious. (I would have liked a pronunciation guide for the names, but how do you provide an easily understandable pronunciation key for a language that is mostly vowels?)… (lisätietoja)