Book Review
Hawai'i Lore

The pictures from Lili'uokalani's album are often intriguing. Some raise difficult questions for contemporary viewers. Mark A. Blackburn collection

This is another in a "books for collectors" series published by this Pennsylvania-based publisher of coffee-table books; previous works have focused on Hawaiian art, dress, tattoos and other subjects. This one focuses on a single, unusual collection purchased not long ago by Waimea collector and gallery owner Mark A. Blackburn: photographs, postcards and other visual memorabilia from the album of Queen Lili'uokalani, given by her to a nurse who attended her in her last years and from there passed on to the California family who sold them to Blackburn. The photographic record offers an intriguing and at times troubling look into the Hawai'i of the time.

Intriguing are the formal and informal poses of an aging Lili'uokalani and a long sequence of photographs of her funeral in 1917, which seems to have been the social event of its day, drawing everyone from a top-hatted haole gentleman to gawking bystanders in everyday dress. Also intriguing, at least to anyone interested in costuming, are the details of dress visible in the photos, from the queen's formal gowns to the Mother Hubbard gowns worn by Hawaiian women, picnicking and posing in various photos.

Troubling, a bit, are the photos of women, and even a few men, posing for what appear to be "pin-up" photos. Some are in hula garb; some play 'ukulele; others are swimming in a pond. Several of the hula poses seem incorrect or contrived. Many of the women are topless. And, while some of the photos are simple portraits, possibly of young women and men Lili'u knew, others appear to be of the sort that would be sold to people with a prurient interest in exotic hula-hula girls. Photo collections often have this effect: That we look, and look, and try to see more than the image can possibly reveal: Who was this person, what was the circumstance under which the photos were made? And, in this case, why did Lili'uokalani, as much a proper Victorian lady as she was a Hawaiian queen, own these photos?

"HAWAII WILD, Adventuring in Rainbow Isles" by Win Rosa, self-published, oversize paper, $18

Win Rosa, a hiker and adventurer who was born in the Islands but now lives in California, returns to his former home as often as he can to hike and roam our wild places with friends and fellow members of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club. This book is a collection of essays about memorable journeys, some of which cannot be made today, either because the areas have been closed off or because, as in the case of the island of Lanai, they've changed so much. Each is preceded by a map of the area and the hiking or boating route, and is illustrated with photos shot by Rosa himself.

This energetic septuagenarian personifies the spirit of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, known as the hardiest and most no-nonsense of the hiking groups. He's the kind of guy who, when a shark is about to chomp into his inflatable kayak in rough waters off a rocky coast, doesn't shriek or thrash about, but merely sends the animal a telepathic message to "Stop that!" and then rolls off into the water. He got away with that one, and with the time his vehicle got stuck in the mud on a remote Lanai pineapple road, and with myriad other adventures but through all, he maintains an impressive cheerfulness and an infectious appreciation for the beauty of this place. Though the design of this self-published volume is unremarkable, and the writing is as utilitarian as the author's hiking kit, the stories draw you in and inspire a desire to be on the trail again.

This book is not in general distribution but is available at the Polynesian Cultural Center and Go Bananas Kayaks or can be ordered from Rosa for a discounted price of $14 through his Web site (www.hawaiiwild.com).

"TUTU'S DA KINE HAWAII" by Kuno (Kurt Schulz), self-published, oversize paper, $14.95.

This book, by a former Walt Disney illustrator who now lives in Na'alehu on the island of Hawai'i, is subtitled "a satirical history of Hawaii as seen under the magnifying glass." It's difficult to know what Kurt Schulz, who uses the pen name Kuno in the title but identifies himself in the accompanying press material, is trying to do here. The idea is that a grandmother, puzzlingly a woman of Samoan descent, is telling her children the story of Hawai'i's history and how this particular family came to be so poor and disenfranchised.

Each two-page spread consists of a short bit of copy on the left, with a cartoon at right. In an afterword on the back cover, Schulz writes that he is setting the record straight as a "neutral" voice. He says the "nutshell" history "is dedicated to a better understanding of the Hawaiian people in a history that was largely dictated by others." This hardly seems a neutral view, nor does it seem possible to treat the subtleties and nuances of history, not to mention the complex problems of understanding a culture that had no written record until relatively recently, in a cartoon book.

Set aside the faulty understanding of pidgin spelling, idiom and syntax, the occasional spelling errors, the inconsistent use of diacriticals and the Disney-esque cartoon style that evokes unfortunate comparisons in the reader's mind with the Seven Dwarves and other cartoon icons. This book relates as fact ideas that have been dismissed (or at the very least are debated) by scholars, such as that the first settlers landed at Ka'u. There is a PC, slightly patronizing tone that is likely unintentional — Schulz seems genuinely interested in and caring of the Hawaiian people — but noticeable.

Several of the cartoons do hit it as political commentary or humor — for example, one in which a Hawaiian carrying sandalwood down the mountain complains, "Dey get rich and we go hungry, what you call dat?" "Free trade," his buddy answers. But Schulz may have set himself an impossible task in attempting to mix humor with history, the former tending to simplify a subject, the latter to embrace its full complexity.