Lehua- Ka'ao a Ka Wahine: The Story of a Woman: A Hawaiian Noblewoman Comes of Age at a Changing of...

Lehua- Ka'ao a Ka Wahine: The Story of a Woman: A Hawaiian Noblewoman Comes of Age at a Changing of...
ISBN-10
1477631410
ISBN-13
9781477631416
Category
Fiction
Pages
340
Language
English
Published
2012-06-01
Publisher
Createspace Independent Pub
Author
Gene J. Parola

Description

In the spring of 1819 King Kamehameha I died after reigning over the first unified Kingdom of Hawai'i. His young son, Liholiho, became Kamehameha II, but effective control of the government was inherited by his favorite wife, Ka'ahumanu. That fall, Liholiho was forced to agree to the abandonment of the native religion, threatening the entire culture. The nobility fled to confirm. Lehua , the fictitious young noblewoman of this novel, comes of age at this trying moment in Hawaiian history. Her ancestry gives her the right, responsibility and ability to be her people's leader, but with the lifting of the kapu, she is suddenly bereft of her divine reason to be. Beset by doubt, alien temptations and a welter of rational, if frightening, options, she falls in love with a half-Hawaiian paniolo [cowboy] who, in rescuing her from kidnappers, takes her on a romantic Hawaiian road trip. Together, they confront an uncertain future astride the divergent forces that will ultimately doom her culture. In 1893 local American businessmen overthrew the Republic of Hawai'i and traded the Islands to the U. S. Reviews of Lehua, Ka'ao a ka Wahine The story is a delight. Gentle, thoughtful and explores the deep differences between cultures and the clash that occurred when they met. It also explores some of the truths about humans, whatever their ancestry - the struggle for power or glory or both and the lengths that people go to to keep their position within a society. (It) is also a love story with nuances and I will not spoil it by telling of them. Paul Smith, Editor, Wise Grey Owl Publishing Farnham, Surrey, UK ...but Lehua is so much more. It submerges a reader into a beautifully rendered world of Old Hawaii right at the point when it goes into the giant whirlwind of cultural revolution, mere months after the kapu based old system of beliefs is repelled, but before Christianity sets itself as a dominant religion. The book is well written and dazzles with many colorful details of native Hawaiian life. It is richly sprinkled with Hawaiian expressions, many still in wide use. I recommend it as much for a pleasure vacation reader as for the audience more inclined to enjoy the exotic tapestry of Kanaka culture in the little publicized period just before it was irreversibly overrun by foreign influences. Alex Modzelewski, Editor, Humpback Publishing "Descendants" was a George Clooney film that captured the interest of people when it dealt with the concept of land in Hawaii... Gene Parola's new book takes the reader through a period of 19th century change that radically touched the lives of those living through momentous upheaval... (and) gives a solid understanding of what Clooney was only able to touch on in the space of his film. Cinematic in its approach,the book cries out for screen play treatment. Clooney should grab this book and start filming before another ambitious filmmaker does. Ray Pace, Editor Honolulu Arts Beat [I] found Lehua to be very interesting and enjoyable. [The author] has a good grasp of the Hawaiian people's predicament at that crucial time in their history. As a part Hawaiian, with some knowledge of Hawaiian history, I could relate to the storyline and to the events, as they occurred. [The author] painted vivid pictures of Kauai's landscapes and terrain, also of the ocean channels, and of the harbors and bays filled with wa'a and sailing ships. The historical content was spot on, as was [the] portrayal of Hawaiian culture and the characters in the story. William Coelho

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