A Tahitian Tale...

Of the two writers who lived, loved, and explored French Polynesia and collaborated on The Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy - James Norman Hall and Charles Nordhoff - I seem to resonate more with Nordhoff. Now, both were exceptionally lyrical and evocative writers of the South Seas during the 1910's and 1920's, but for me Nordhoff's writing is slightly more romantic and Hall's a bit more prosaic.

This is not a criticism as I devour Hall's writings with great love and enjoyment. His autobiography, My Island Home, is a wonderful exploration of a writer's path. Perhaps this (very subtle) bias is due to my favorite book of all time (yes, I rediscovered it decades later) which was Nordhoff's The Pearl Lagoon. This was the seminal book of a life-long love of the South Seas for me. I read it when I was nine-years old and now, as I approach 60, it still is my favorite.

In the non-fictional account of Hall's and Nordhoff's travels in the South Seas - Faery Lands of the South Seas - where they explore and write about both the high islands and atolls alike, they paint exquisitely beautiful views of life in this tropical paradise. It is far more than a travelogue as the stories draw the reader in and we can feel the warm nights and hear the trade winds rustling the palm fronds while the moon shimmers across the lagoon.

As an example, here is the opening paragraph to Nordhoff's short-story "Tahitian Tales" from the Faery Lands of the South Seas book:

"The evening was very warm and still. The sea rumbled faintly on the reef, half a mile offshore, and behind us - above the vague heights of the interior - a full moon was rising. The palms were asleep after their daily tussle with the trade winds - fronds drooping and motionless in silhouette against the sky. We had spread mats on the grass close to the beach; Tehinatu lay beside me, chin propped in her hands - she had been bathing, and her dark hair, still damp, hung in a cloud about her face. Her grandmother, Airima - the woman from Maupiti - sat facings us, cross-legged in the position of her people. Now and then a fish leaped in the lagoon; once, far down the beach, a ripe nut thudded to the earth.

"'If you two like,' said old Airima, 'I will tell you the story of my ancestor....'" 

From there, it is a magical story of Polynesian legend and history and it is completely and thoroughly engaging. Ahhhh.......