STORIES OF HAWAII BY JACK LONDON

by A. Grove- Ed. Day ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Jack London, who died at forty, was the author of over fifty books and was the highest paid, most popular writer of his day. He was best known for primitive themes and tales of man against the elements. His Hawaiian stories are among his best and often display sophisticated observation not usually associated with London, especially when they concern race snobbery. Koolau the Leper reveals a prototype existentialist in full rebellion against his fate. The white authorities decide to group all lepers on the island isolation center called Molokai. Koolau, however, refuses to leave his native region. He is a dead shot with the rifle and fights the authorities for two years...until his last finger drops off. In another story, Goodbye Jack, a courageous, happy-go-lucky white millionaire pooh-poohs the lot of lepers on Molokai, until he discovers that his Hawaiian girl has had to go there and that he too may have the disease. Far and away the best story is Chun Ah Chun, about a Chinese coolie who becomes a multimillionaire and father of fifteen wondrously beautiful children. Anticipating the suits and cross-litigation with which his Westernized children will descend upon his fortune, he first provides for them all and then moves out of their legal reaches. This book well deserves its present republication.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Appleton-Century

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1965

Categories: FICTION