A thoughtful, well-written work that breathes new life into past personalities and events.
In Shender’s debut historical novel, an 18th- and 19th-century Hawaiian ruler unites the island’s people through war, diplomacy, and intrigue in the years before, during, and after the arrival of European explorers.
Benjamin Namakeha, a contemporary of Kamehameha I (circa 1736-1819), tells of the events of the story after the fact, with the perspective of age and in the very different culture of mid-19th-century Hawaii. When Kamehameha was a youth, Namakeha says, he exceled at training in the arts of war; he gained strength and sharpened his wits, which served him well when navigating court intrigue, including multiple attempts to poison him. As Shender traces the Hawaiian hero’s life, he seamlessly integrates Hawaiian words, making the language easy for readers to pick up while also adding realism and flavor: “The older boy hurled the insult at Kamehameha like a short ihe spear.” In 1778, British captain James Cook lands in Hawaii; his arrival coincides with the foretold return of the god Lono. This coincidence, and the new arrivals’ advanced technology, convinces many Hawaiians that the foreigners (or “haoles”) are divine. Kamehameha is skeptical, however, and learns as much as he can about their weaponry, and he uses this knowledge in future battles. Shender’s delightful depictions of the first exchanges between strange cultures are spot-on, as when an interpreter for the British says, “he will pay generously in cloth and iron,” and a Hawaiian asks what iron is: “Ailon’e? What is ailon’e?” Although Cook is killed in a confrontation with islanders, Kamehameha and his people continue their trade with Europeans. In time, Kamehameha consolidates his power, dealing not only with military enemies, but also family problems. The story shows the engaging parallels between Kamehameha’s story and European mythology as well as religious tales. For example, when Kamehameha is born, his mother has a dream that frightens the island’s rulers, who then try to have him killed. Later, in a story that mirrors King Arthur’s, Kamehameha moves the Naha Stone—a deed that prophesies his destiny as ruler. Overall, this novel should gratify historians and general readers alike
A thoughtful, well-written work that breathes new life into past personalities and events.Pub Date: Dec. 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-692-77133-4
Page Count: 562
Publisher: Pai'ea Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
None of the characters shine enough to inspire or enlighten readers.
A tale of several generations of women cursed to love men who love other women.
As the book opens, Gabriela Siton relates the story of her mother Luna’s death, and in describing her final year, Yishai-Levi, a journalist and nonfiction author, captures the family dynamic and lays out the drama—Luna doesn’t get along with Gabriela; she’s unhappy with her husband, David; she didn’t get along with her mother, Rosa; and all this has left Gabriela at loose ends. Gabriela seeks answers from her Aunt Allegra in Tel Aviv, trying to understand the family “curse,” and then the book shifts mostly to Rosa’s and Luna’s viewpoints. It abruptly shifts back in the end to Gabriela’s, skipping over years, when earlier, the narrative plodded slowly through days. There are so many characters that we only get a brief look at some of them, and so many disappointments and heartbreaks that they begin to lose their impact. Ordinary lives can be made beautiful, but when they belong to characters who are either unsympathetic or rudimentary, they are rendered ineffective. The characters’ faith, which influences so many of the important decisions in their lives, mostly comes across as routine, habit, or even superstition. Some of the characters become involved in the struggle for modern Israel, and their political fervor is similarly underdeveloped.
None of the characters shine enough to inspire or enlighten readers.Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-250-07816-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Detectives, doctors, and dastardly scoundrels abound in this fascinating historical novel.
Luring women with the false promise of a safe, albeit illegal, abortion, a serial killer is on the loose in 1880s New York City.
In this sequel to The Gilded Hour (2015), Donati returns to a time when female doctors were viewed with surprise if not outright hostility. Cousins Anna and Sophie Savard have earned their professional medical training, both turning to practice primarily on women. Grieving the recent death of her attorney husband, Cap, from tuberculosis, Sophie plans to use her inheritance to establish scholarships and a welcoming home for women pursuing medical studies. Happily married to Jack Mezzanotte, a detective investigating the killings with his partner, Oscar Maroney, Anna is a highly accomplished surgeon, but they have just lost custody of the children they were fostering, children the church wants raised by Catholics. The sprawling Savard family blends multiple ethnicities, including Italian, Mohawk, and African American, and Donati crafts strong female characters who draw upon the wisdom of their ancestors to transcend the slings and arrows of petty racism and sexism. She juxtaposes these women, thriving on the energies of the zeitgeist advancing women’s rights, with the villains, who sink into the muck of dubious morality crusades, such as the anti-contraception and anti-abortion campaigns of Anthony Comstock and the xenophobic orphanage system run by the Roman Catholic Church. Through Sophie’s and Anna’s work, Donati sketches in the historical backdrop of reproductive challenges in late-19th-century America: Women dying in childbirth, women dying to avoid childbirth, women and babies mangled by medical quacks, and children drugged to the point of death just to keep peace in the nursery. The wounds inflicted by the serial killer caused prolonged, severely painful deaths, suggesting not inept but malicious intent. And as the Drs. Savard assist Jack and Oscar in their investigation, another woman goes missing.
Detectives, doctors, and dastardly scoundrels abound in this fascinating historical novel.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-425-27182-7
Page Count: 672
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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