The Folding Cliffs: A Narrative (Paperback)

by W.S. Merwin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Since distinguished poet and translator Merwin (The Lice; The Vixen) moved to Maui almost two decades ago, Hawaiian flora, fauna and history have pervaded his work. His sprawling new novel-in-verse (based on historical facts) unfolds a complicated, suspenseful, true story of natives, colonials, rebels and leprosy in 19th-century Kaua'i, spread over seven chapters of 40 one-page sections. Merwin's cast includes his native Hawaiian heroes, Ko'olau and his wife (later widow), Pi'ilani; their relatives (a crew that's hard to sort out); the authoritative and admirable Judge Kauai; an iconoclastic cleric, George Rowell; Father Valdemar Knudsen, Ko'olau's employer; and a complement of ill-meaning missionaries and colonialists. The plot, when it gets underway, involves resistance to the cruel government policy of forcibly segregrating Hawaiians diagnosed with leprosy. Stricken with "the separating sickness," Ko'olau, Pi'ilani and their son join an Edenic, illegal settlement of lepers in a remote valley. Into Ko'olau's and Pi'ilani's sad adventures, Merwin splices earlier Hawaiian history and legend, from creation myths to the overthrow of the last native rulers. Readers must acclimate themselves to the fluently ongoing, unpunctuated lines and extended sentences in which Merwin casts all his verse. But after a dozen pages, the six- and seven-beat lines seem surprisingly flexible and appropriate. The fast-moving chapters try hard and well to combine the Homeric grandeur of orally transmitted epics, ecological and historical information ("the landed chiefs' sole remaining wealth was the land/ which no one but they could own") and the simpler pleasures of a suspenseful plot. The rapt attention typical of Merwin's short poems mixes comfortably here with the pathos and characterization of a contemporary realist novel: "she stopped and looked back at the valley she had left/ it looked new and shining in an age that never changed/ and farther away than she had ever seen it."
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
A deep sense of place infuses Merwin's sensual poetry, and it, too, is the impetus behind this remarkably dramatic book-length poem. Merwin has rekindled a long-dormant form to present a fictionalized yet fact-based tale of the tragic history of Hawaii, his home, a wondrous scattering of islands calamitously vulnerable to violation. In the opening scenes, Merwin conjures the glistening web of the pristine Hawaiian landscape, naming trees and birds, stones and water, flowers and clouds. His long, lovely lines roll in and out like ocean waves as he slowly adds human beings to the scene and introduces his main characters, Pi'ilani and Ko'olau, who marry and have a son and then witness the diabolical conquest of their beloved island by strange men in huge boats. The men are full of lust and bring iron, cattle, and disease. As Merwin recounts the horrific consequences of their invasion, particularly their treatment of lepers as criminals, his language turns hard, and his lines snap and slash like the lashes of a whip, incising into our collective conscience the painful truth about a place we like to think of as paradise. Donna Seaman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (March 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375701516
• ISBN-13: 978-0375701511
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #280,118 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book but a lot of typos, November 5, 1999

By	Fernando Peñalosa ([e-mail]) (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Folding Cliffs: A Narrative (Hardcover)

I have just finished reading this delightful book. I am also a book editor and publisher, and would like to offer some suggestions should the book ever be reprinted or issued in a new edition. I am very aware of how errors creep in, and I have made a large number of bloopers myself, so no one is perfect, but I would hope a publisher with the vintage prestige of Knopf would make every effort to employ knowledgeable proofreaders. The book is very inconsistent in the spelling of Hawaiian words, with a large number of 'okina (apostrophes) and kahako (macrons) left out. There is at least one spelling error, the name of the newspaper Ka Leo o ka Lahui incorrectly spelled Ka Leo o ka Lauhui ("Voice of the Nation"). The list of personal and geograpnic names at the end is very useful, but far from complete, and it is very difficult to follow some of the text not knowing who some of these people or places are, or having to look back further in the text to identify them. Some of these may be misspelled, I don't know, although I am familiar with the island of Kaua'i (sometimes spelled Kauai in the book), its history and geography. I am also a friend of Frances Frazier, who very kindly recommended the book to me. I hope you give this book wide publicity, and that you have very successful sales. Best wishes,

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Patience rewards, December 8, 1999

By	Bob Saigh (Chicago (where we know something about shooting)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Folding Cliffs: A Narrative (Hardcover)

I agree with most of the comments in the reviews to date (five, prior to mine). Some patience is required for reading this book. At times it's somewhat "foreign" (and unless you're Hawaiian and/or know Hawaii well, you're probably entitled to feel strange), but its language is uniquely rich and its construction and thought are stunningly insightful, very rewarding. Don't be surprised if you're rather inarticulate after reading this book. It's complicated, worth re-reading, and certainly a recommendation for adventurous readers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A rich blend of ancient and modern devices, July 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Folding Cliffs: A Narrative (Hardcover)

Here is a story about Hawaii that attempts to capture the ancient oral tradition of 'oli chants within the confines of Euro-linguistics. The vast differences between Hawaiian and English are issues which Merwin confronted by creating a narrative poem; he drew from Western literature's own past--Homeric poems--for inspiration and guidance. Yet, he adds his modern touch (the missing punctuation marks). I found this a fascinating approach, and I appreciated his effort. The story of Pi'ilani and Ko'olau expresses the love and gentleness of the people, the communal values present in the Hawaiian culture, and the complicated social and political relationships responsible for the Hansen's disease mess. Merwin honored the truth without compromising his creativity. There are a few sections early in the novel, and a few near the end that seem redundant and tedious. I struggled through these parts, though early on I was rewarded with a beautifully wrought account of the creation of the islands and its people; it echoed the Kumulipo or ancient Hawaiian creation myth. Still, the slow parts detracted from the novel's readability; thus, I give it three stars.