By
Toby Neal (MAKAWAO, HI, US) -
This review is from: Wai-nani:High Chiefess of Hawaii-Her Epic Journey
Press in to really "get" this book. Wai-nani’ s story is
told in a hypnotic, fairy-tale or high legend voice that took me a chapter or
two to get into--but once I did, I was fascinated with the way Linda Ballou had
taken us into the intimate and unknown world of the Hawaiian people through the
eyes of an unforgettable heroine. Wai-nani is fierce, passionate, and deeply
connected to the land and ocean--and to her complex and multi-faceted warrior
husband. It reminded me how fully developed the civilization of the Hawaiian
people was, and how large their population, before the fateful arrival of
"Kapena Kuke" and his "floating heiau."
Thanks for this journey to another time and a Hawaii seen through a princess of its people.
That Toby Neal author of the Lei
Crime series set in Hawaiian Islands, who grew up on Kauai and presently
resides in up-country Maui fell under Wai-nani’s spell, makes my heart sing. In
my poetic rendering of the people of old I mimicked the rhythm of the meles and
legends handed down through a centuries old oral tradition. Hula was a form of
mediation to bring more mana,or spiritual power into your world. Inbreeding among royals kept the
bloodline of the chiefs clean. The love affair between Kamehameha the Great and
Ka’ahumanu,(the inspiration for the character of Wai-nani) rivaled that of Napoleon and Josephine. Kamehameha’s prophesied rise
to power plays out like a Greek tragedy. The responsibility to impart this
story of mythic proportion in a way that would engage western readers, while
remaining true to the culture felt at times overwhelming. That Toby Neal, a
woman who knows the history of the Islands, is deeply rooted in the culture, and
is a fine writer herself, finds my effort worthy is extremely gratifying.
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| Photo by Mike Neal |
Another dilemma I had when publishing this book was whether
to use a pen name since my main writing credits are in the travel narrative
genre. In a blog conversation Toby echoes
my sentiment that it feels like a deception that she doesn’t feel comfortable with. She
attempts to place an umbrella of all things Hawaiian over her series of Lei Crime novels and her psychological
suspense novel Unsound. As an
adventure travel writer I have tried to include my historical novel in my
travel identity as a book that takes you to a place you can’t get to any other
way. Wai-nani speaks to you from the spirit well of pre-contact Hawai'i. Her
story is a celebration of of the people of old and a window into a hauntingly beautiful place
that no longer exists in its purity.
