Synopses & Reviews
Review
I met Linda Ballou at the 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Festival. Later, in an e-mail, she told me it took her twenty years to do the research for this historical fiction and to get it out of the drawer and into the streets. The time Ballou spent on this work shows in the rich details that flow like lava from two of the earth's largest volcanoes found on the island of Hawaii.
Wai-nani is rich with ancient Hawaiian culture and lore. The main character may be fictional but she is a reflection of Ka'ahumanu, King Kamehameha's favorite wife, at one time the most powerful person in the Hawaiian Islands.
Today, the Hawaiian Islands may be an incredible tourist destination, but in the 18th century, they weren't. When the islands were more or less isolated from the rest of the world, the Hawaiian people were often at war with each other and women were second-class citizens who could be executed for daring to eat a meal on the same mat or in the same room as a man. Men could take more than one wife and the rules were strict with death often being the punishment for breaking them.
Ka'ahumanu, as represented by Wai-nani in Ballou's novel, was an early feminist and helped bring about changes that elevated women to be equal with men.
Do not be surprised when you find Wai-nani making friends with a family of dolphins. Some readers may have trouble believing this part of the novel, but I didn't. Before Christ, the Greeks recorded incidents of dolphins helping and befriending sailors lost at sea when their ships sunk. There are recoded incidents of dolphins still doing this in modern times. There have been stories of dolphins driving fish onto beaches to help feed starving African natives. Therefore, it was easy reading about Wai-nani swimming with her dolphin friends in the ocean.
Wai-nani also chronicles the clash between cultures when Captain Cook arrives in 1779, along with the same European diseases that devastated and killed so many North and South American Indians. When Europeans started to spread across the globe, their viruses and germs went with them and did most of the killing making it easier for the land grabs that happened later. That tragedy is part of this story too.
The Hawaiian culture, the characters and the setting are richly detailed. I have never visited Hawaii. It would be nice one day if I had that chance, but if that doesn't happen, at least I have had the pleasure of being taken to this Polynesian paradise by reading this heavily detailed story. — Lloyd Lofthouse
Review
As a long-time Hawaii resident, former journalist and reporter, and now the publicist for the Big Island Visitors Bureau -- I was delighted with Linda Ballou's novel. Wainani shines a compelling insight into Hawaii's Big Island, and a fictional account of Kaahumanu (Wainani). I must admit I was initially skeptical about this book, because I've read enough lame fiction by mainland authors about Hawaii to last a lifetime. But I couldn't put it down! And I bought more copies to share with friends. There were some Hawaiian errors (the word kupuna means elders; bamboo would not have been here yet; the cover art doesn't look like a Hawaiian to me), but they were minor and forgivable, and didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of this entrancing piece of fiction. I highly recommend this novel! And perhaps those minor infractions can be corrected on the second edition.
— Jessica Ferracane
Synopsis
From the cauldron of controversy that is Hawaiian history emerges Wai-nani, a reflection of the personage of the great chiefess Ka'ahumanu. Like all Islanders, she is a water baby finding pleasure, sustenance, solace, wisdom and courage in the grand and vibrant sea. She is born fifteen years prior to the landing of Captain Cook in Kealakekua in 1779 and is the favorite wife of Makaha, a fierce warrior modeled after Kamehameha the Great. Hawaiian women enjoyed sports, were trained in the martial arts, played active roles in decision-making, and participated in wars. They communed with the gods through hula and ritualistic ceremonies. Ka'ahumanu swam miles each day and it is reasonable to believe she would make friends in the ocean. Wai-nani's bond with Eku-a playful and communicative dolphin-propels her on a mythological journey couched in magical realism. Wai-nani is a celebration of the Hawaiian people of old, especially the powerful Ka'ahumanu-forerunner to the modern woman.
Synopsis
Wai-nani transports you into the wild heart old Hawai'i when Captain Cook stepped upon the shores of Kealakekua Bay in 1779. Linda Ballou skillfully weaves legends and myths, fabled history, and an evocative love story into a poetic rendering of the "People of Old." Lavish images of the Islands splash the page as you tread inside the mysterious Polynesian culture. Hawai'i's story is told through the eyes of Wai-nani, a fiercely passionate, free-spirited woman. She takes you on a seductive journey that spans the most dynamic period in Hawaiian history