The Edge of Paradise: America in Micronesia (A Kolowalu Book) [Paperback]

P. F. Kluge (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this account of novelist Kluge's return to Micronesia where he once served as a Peace Corps volunteer, he examines how the American presence has ruined an island paradise. Drawn back by the death (an apparent suicide) of Lazarus Salii, the president of the tiny Republic of Belau, for whom he had once written speeches, Kluge finds in Salii's demise an allegory of all the evils that have befallen Micronesia in the past two decades. Unfortunately, Kluge focuses entirely on the island elite. As a result, his conclusions are skewed because he fails to reflect everyday life in present-day Micronesia. His vivid, moving prose notwithstanding, he does not do justice to his subject. For travel and international affairs collections.
- Glenn Peterson, Baruch Coll . , CUNY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Hawaii Pr (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082481567X
• ISBN-13: 978-0824815677
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,244,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paradise is in your mind. We still live here, June 17, 2000

By 

Pat McCallum (Chuuk (on loan from Brisbane, Australia)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Edge of Paradise: America in Micronesia (A Kolowalu Book) (Paperback)

I am reading P F Kluge's book on loan from a friend. Not only is it entertaining prose but it is perceptive, fresh and even 10 years on very relevant. Although it is written around a trip to the islands, this is no travel book. It is hard nosed social commentary.

Fortunately I am working in Micronesia, with people who remember Kluge. This makes the book more personally relavant. His observations are sometimes stark and even biting, almost to the extent of being satirical. They are not however untrue. Perhaps in their vividness they overpower other more positive aspects of Micronesia as it is for Micronesians.

This should be mandatory reading for anyone dealing with the renegotiations of US funding support for FSM and other Compact countries. I am finding that all too often it is convenient to forget the history of US involvement here and how the impacts of decisions made in Washington and elsewhere in the Trust Territory administration are as much to blame for the 'mess' here as is the conduct of this small population of Micronesians.

I am just a short term Aussie with no liver spots, so I can say these things. Mr Kluge is an American and states them with the clarity of an outsider and the intimate knowledge of an insider.

Find out what happens to the tails of turkeys, why it is dangerous to have sex in Chuuk, how to identify a Peace Corp volunteer by the look in their eyes. This book has it all.

While outsiders trickle into their idea of an island paradise, Micronesians flow out to their idea of a consumer paradise. Only occasionally do we really meet. When that happens you have lasting friendships which Mr Kluge's book chronicles so well.

Enjoyable enjoyable enjoyable. I will read it many times after I depart in a years time because it captures images of the recent social history islands so well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Creative Journalism?, February 15, 2002

By 

WILLIAM C CAMPBELL (Zephyr Cove, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Edge of Paradise: America in Micronesia (A Kolowalu Book) (Hardcover)

Having lived and loved and worked and traveled in Micronesia for nearly 10, unforgetable and unregretable years; having known people who knew P.F. Kluge during his Peace Corps journalism years and closely known some of the principal personalities in "Edge," I can vouch for the book's veracity. However, it reads more like enchanting fiction, without romanticizing, than merely an engaging factual account. I can recommend, without reservation, this delightful read to anyone contemplating visiting or relocating on an employment contract to these islands. It's much cheaper than a plane ticket and provides a preview of what to realistically expect, unlike travel or recruiting advertisements. For better or worse, it will assist in deciding if you are able to fit into small island life.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate and Interesting, March 29, 2000

By 

Norman H. Clow - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Edge of Paradise: America in Micronesia (A Kolowalu Book) (Paperback)

We lived in Micronesia (Pohnpei and Guam) during the time the book was written and published, in the 1990's, and I found it a good treatment of the region. Everyone knows about Polynesia, some know about Melanesia but hardly anyone knows about Micronesia. This book makes up for that. Kluge's story makes the Western Pacific islands a real place with real people who had real stories and real lives. While I may not agree with all of the author's ideas, opinions and perspectives, Edge of Paradise is an honest and informative work of a vibrant, colorful and authentic part of the world. It was more interesting to me because I knew of or was acquainted with many of the people named in the book. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a non-academic (non-boring) "feel" for the Micronesian islands and in fact have used it just that way for my friends and family "back home".