Wai-nani - A Voice From Old Hawai'i

Author Linda Ballou is an avid travel writer who began her own travels by moving from Alaska to live on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai for a year. During her stay in Hawaii, Linda became enamored with the historical figure, Ka'ahumanu, the first and favorite wife of Ka'mahama, the king of Hawaii who conquered and united the Hawaiian Islands, not including Kauai.

Along with her travel books, Linda wrote a fictionalized short story of her experiences on Kauai in Love Bird Cafe, featuring the lovable parrot, Barfly (a non-fiction character!) Having wanted to read Linda's novel about Ka'ahumanu, entitled Wai-nani -A Voice from Old Hawai'i, for some time now, the scheduled meeting was my call to action.

Wai-nani - A Voice From Old Hawai'i - a book review:

 

Young Wai-nani, sleek and defiant, escapes the confines of her role within a royal family of the Hawaiian Islands to explore in untethered freedom. Her chosen companion is a creature of the sea she thrives in, a dolphin she calls Eku.

Soon she meets and falls in love with a young warrior, and in defiance of an arranged marriage, she weds Makaha, who will one day become a king. But Wai-nani's rebellious nature keeps her at odds with the kapu laws restraining women within society and soon she escapes once again the chains of confinement.

In this novel, Linda Ballou offers an interesting and educational rendering of the lives of King Kamehameha and his first wife, Ka'ahumanu. The story offers a realistic portrait of life in the Hawaiian Islands of the 1700s, a tumultuous time of warring tribes fighting for domination in the name of unity in an isolated string of Pacific islands. 

Take time to explore the poetic passages of this tale; experience the contrasts of tropical sun beating down on fertile soil and thundering waves pounding a stormy sea. This story is a mix of contrasts and conflicts, with satisfying conclusions.

*****