Hawaii (novel) - Definition and Overview

Hawaii was a novel written by James Michener in 1959. In episodic format like most of his works, the book tells of the native Hawaiians (who came from Bora Bora) and the American occupants, as well as Chinese and Japanese immigrants who came to find their fortunes on the Hawaiian islands. The story starts in the ninth century and ends in the mid-1950s.

Each episode illustrates the experiences of a certain group on the islands. The point of view changes with each episode, although by the last part, the point of view changes rapidly.

In 1966, a movie version of Hawaii was made, starring Max von Sydow and Julie Andrews. However, the movie only focused on the Americans' first landing at Hawaii.

Bibliographical information

• A paperback edition was reissued in New York by Fawcett Books in 1994 with ISBN 0449213358 .