Customer Reviews

The Return of Lono: A Novel of Captain Cook's Last Voyage (Pacific Classics, 1)

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I really enjoy reading historical fiction, in this case as far as I know it seems really accurate (as I looked up a few things). I am ashamed to admit that I didn't know that William Bligh was a crew member under the command of Capt. Cook. As many know Mr. Bligh would go on to be the Capt. of the HMS Bounty. The author uses a young English seaman to tell his tale. The interesting part of that is how he (as well as the other Englishmen) refer to Hawaiians as Indians, but I would think in their time anybody who was brown was an Indian. The story makes you appreciate how difficult communication could be between two groups who do not speak the same language. And if you read this (which you should) you'll find many other difficulties two diverse cultures coming together can present.

The Hawaiians had a god whom they called Lono. A white god. He promised the people he would return one day and be among his people again telling them how he would return. 400 - 500 years later at the bay where he left and named after him, a great ship with a heaou returned to the same bay. A white man (Cook)sailed into the Hawaiian's life and changed Hawaii for ever. From this meeting and then thru outthe following years, what was a population of 400,000 natives was reduced to 15,000 in less than 100 years.
Follow Cook, who realizes that he is mistaken as Lono, but does nothing to change the situation as it is all to his benefit, until one day he leaves with much Aloha and returns again with new demands for the people,leaving the natives with little food for themselves he once again uses the people of Hawaii for his own good.
Cook, finding himself in trouble, fires upon the hawaiian people, and they in return find out that Cook is a mere mortal, not the god they thought him to be.
Find out how playing God can get you killed.