Book Review: TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC by James A. Michener

Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"I pray to God that never in your history will you have an enemy so near your shores."

I have Mr. Michener to thank for keeping me company during the queue for my 3rd vaccine shot, as well as keeping me up til 1 am because GOSHDANGIT I couldn't put this book down once I had opened it!

This is my third Michener book since the pandemic, the other two being IBERIA (Spain) and CARAVANS (Afghanistan). All hail THE GREAT MICHENER! He is now one of my all-time faves. You know how our parents' generation had thick Micheners in all their home libraries? I now understand why!!!

He's a teacher's dream in written form: able to cram so much historically accurate information, wrapped up in easy-to-read prose, but sprinkled liberally with several penetrating insights that elevate his books from mere airport purchases. As another fan put it, "Why isn't he in the canon?!" If more people read Michener, we'd have more open hearts, open minds. We'd have more people in love and in awe of the world, for Michener loved every thing he wrote about and infects his readers with his passion.

Listen to this opening paragraph:

"I wish I could tell you about the South Pacific. The way it actually was. The endless ocean. The infinite specks of coral we called islands. Coconut palms nodding gracefully toward the ocean. Reefs upon which waves broke into spray, and inner lagoons, lovely beyond description..."

What amazes me is that this Pulitzer prize winning masterpiece was Michener's FIRST book. How can anyone write THIS GOOD, the first time?! Well no wonder Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote a classic Broadway musical, which got turned into a classic film!

We have around nineteen short stories/chapters, each featuring a person or an episode inspired by Michener's experiences in World War II as an island hopper around modern day Vanuatu. Michener makes you care about this large cast of characters so quickly, so passionately, that when the epic final chapters come around, you're reading breathlessly, praying and hoping that they survive, when they've been preparing for that grand battle for so many years.

I loved the story about the granddaughter of Fletcher Christian (the mutineer on the Bounty) on Norfolk Island, and I don't think I've read a more beautiful love letter than the one in the censorship chapter (and the worst one was in there, too, hehe).

"We will shortly be faced with responsibilities almost beyond our capacity to perform. At that time there will be no place for weaklings."

I don't recall reading a better battle narrative than the chapter "The Landing on Kuralei." I think Michener chose to combine the stories of actual battles on Tarawa and Guadalcanal, to show the peril in fighting against Japanese commanders educated in the U.S., and Japanese banzai chargers who would sacrifice themselves while causing maximum damage.

"Before me lay the dead, the heroic dead who took the island. Over them the sea birds dipped in endless homage. Above them the deep sky erected a cathedral... Never again will we be surrounded only by heroes."

We come away with renewed respect for the common bravery of this great generation, who fought for an idea called democracy, and laid down their lives so people today could fight over bodily autonomy in vaccination campaigns. The way I see it, we are in the midst of our own generation's war: a fight of reason and science versus fear and politicking. And while Michener's book, very much a product of its time (with passages that will offend some for its sexism and racism), has a few parts that didn't age well, on the whole it is brilliant and inspiring, and is definitely a must-read! Best read in private because this thing will alternately have you whooping from laughter, and quietly weeping by the end.

And now it's a time for a re-watch of the musical!

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