Saturday, July 6, 2013

The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Picked this up on a whim and read it in about 2 days, even though it covers a number of my pet peeves: written in first-person present tense; woman author writing as a man; precocious, smart-ass kids; It really has all the hallmarks of something I don't enjoy. And you know what? It wasn't all that bad. It was thoughtful and touching and I might even watch the movie.

3/5 stars?

Fortunes have changed for the King family, descendants of Hawaiian royalty and one of the state's largest landowners. Mathew King's daughters - Scottie, a feisty ten-year-old, and Alex, a seventeen year-old recovering drug addict -  are out of control, and their charismatic, thrill-seeking mother, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat-racing accident. She will soon be taken off life support. As Matt gathers his wife's friends and family to say their final goodbyes, a difficult situation is made worse by the sudden discovery that there's one person who hasn't been told: the man with whom Joanie had been having an affair. Forced to examine what they owe not only to the living but to the dead, Matt, Scottie, and Alex take to the road to find Joanies lover, on a memorable journey that leads to unforeseen humour, growth, and profound revelations. (back cover)




4 comments:

Laura said...

Ooooh! I have this book and sort-of-accidentally got the movie from Lovefilm (like English Netflix) and I feel like I need to read the book before I see the movie but I couldn't really be bothered? But... It's good/ok, huh? Hmmmmm!

Trish said...

Yes, it's pretty good, and a quick read, too. I've heard reviewers say the movie is just as good and more or less true to the book. I don't think you'd miss anything by jumping right into the movie and skipping the book.

Connie said...

It's funny how books can catch us off guard and surprise us like that sometimes. :)

Trish said...

It's what keeps me sampling things I'm iffy about.