The Descendants (Audible Audio Edition) Kaui Hart Hemmings Jonathan Davis AudioGO Ltd Books
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Matthew King was once considered one of the most fortunate men in Hawaii. His missionary ancestors who came to the islands were financially and culturally progressive - one even married a Hawaiian princess, making Matt a royal descendant and one of the state's largest landowners. But now his luck has changed. His two daughters are out of control 10-year-old Scottie has a smart-ass attitude and a desperate need for attention, and 17-year-old Alex, a former model, is a recovering drug addict. His thrill-seeking and high-maintenance wife, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat racing accident, and will soon be taken off life support.
The King family can hardly picture life without their charismatic mother, but as they come to terms with this tragedy, their sadness is mixed with a sense of freedom that shames them - and spurs them into surprising actions.
The Descendants (Audible Audio Edition) Kaui Hart Hemmings Jonathan Davis AudioGO Ltd Books
First I saw the movie, the gist of which I thought at the time to be the touching transformation of the rebellious and sullen 17 year old Alex into a surrogate mother to her blossoming 10 year old sister Scottie. George Clooney was just the right choice to portray Matt, father to the two girls. He was funny, and perplexed, and ever respectful of his unfaithful wife who lay comatose from a boating accident. I look for emotion in my movie choices.Then I read the book. It was better than the movie because the movie missed the key reason why Matt made the decision he did in hanging on to the ancestral land that he was shepherding. In reading, I formed a deep respect for author Hemming's use of language and understanding of the teenagers in the movie, Alex and her friend Sid. I also appreciated Hemming's skill as she seamlessly glided back and forth between advancing the story while filling in the backstory, avoiding any flashbacks.
Then I listened to the audio book, and was delighted to get an even deeper appreciation for the journey that Matt made, growing into his role as father to his children. It's a thoroughly engaging story, ultimately arriving at the moment when Matt forgives his unworthy dying wife. It seems morose when I write it down here, but this is a funny, and affecting story that rings true from beginning to end.
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The Descendants (Audible Audio Edition) Kaui Hart Hemmings Jonathan Davis AudioGO Ltd Books Reviews
This is the story of Matthew King who is faced with a defining moment in his life. He is suddenly forced to make many difficult decisions in his life and he must now examine his life, his family, and his love. The story takes place in Hawaii where Matt, descendant of a Hawaiian princess, is the owner of valuable property along with other descendants of the King line. The land, held in a trust, is now up for sale, and it has fallen to Matt to choose a buyer. But that is not his most difficult decision right now. His wife has been in a bad accident and is in an irreversible coma. Now he must face the fact that his wife, whose living will States she does not want to be kept alive in a vegetative state, is going to die. Like many men, he has not been intimately involved in the daily lives of his two daughters, ages sixteen and ten. He must learn how to be a parent and guide his children through this difficult time. Then he discovers his wife has secrets and he must come to terms with the consequences. I thought this was a compelling story with insight into the nature of love, marriage and responsibility. Life is messy. People are complicated. We are often faced with tough situations and must use our best judgments. I did like this book.
That's the premise of this story. Mother Joannie is in a coma, on life support. She has left a Living Will so she will be taken off of life support shortly. Matt and their two daughters, 18 year old Alexa, and 10 year old Scottie, together with Alexas friend Sid, go to varioys friends and family members to let them know that they need to say goodbye now if they wish to.
In the meantime, Alexa informs her father she had seen Joannie go into a house with a man and shows him where. They happen to see a picture of the guy on a for sale sign in front of a house so they know he's a realtor. When Matt goes to tell friends of Joannies about her condition he confronts her girlfriend and discovers that not only was she having an affair, but she had planned to divorce him and marry her lover.
In the course of the story, Matt goes to let the lover know Joannie will be dead. He gets some HUGE surprises.
Matt and Joannies family had been very dysfunctional. As Matt and the girls work through Joanies deceit, his decision that keeping the huge amounts of family land and working through the debt to retain the family legacy, and the girls and Matt seeing sides of one another they could not see with Joannie in their lives, was the start of a real family forming. All three found that they loved Joannie, but their lives and family were better with her gone .
Interesting.
HIGHLY recommend. Getting where they did was a VERY interesting voyage.
No wonder a super good movie was made from this book. Clean, clear writing, fabulous characters, a story of humanity during great duress and emotional pressures and trauma. The excellent film led me to read this book, and it's a total keeper. I don't loan out books unless I can live with the knowledge that I'll likely not get it back. This one would be passed around by many, I'm sure, so I keep mine on the shelf, and tell those who are curious to either go to the public library, or offer to buy them a copy.
All one can wish for is more fine work, more wonderful storytelling, to come from Kaui Hart Hemmings.
My wife is Hawaiian, 1/4 Native Hawaiian, and of course a number of other races, i.e. hapa (Hawaiian for mixed-race). We spend a lot of time in the Islands, usually on The Big Island, so I'm very familiar with the themes of this incredible novel. She is also descended from the Royal Family, and part of several land trusts holding title to large parcels of land. We must have seen the film five or six times; how George Clooney was denied the academy award for his rendering of Matt King is beyond me. The novel is, if anything, better than the film, richer, deeper, more moving and simply a great work. I can't recommend it strongly enough. It captures both the personal anguish of a flawed man who is only trying to do right in a very difficult and compromising world, and the unique aspects of Hawaiian culture which is at once familiar and completely unknown to our "mainland" American way-of-life. The people ring true; these are "locals" in Hawaii that I've encountered. The way they speak and act is spot on. This is a wonderful book. It's about family, the unique connection Hawaiians have for their land, their aina, and the responsibilities one has to the land and to future generations. It's about connections to our ohana, our extended family, and how those connections are the only things that are really important; the rest is just ashes on the waters.
First I saw the movie, the gist of which I thought at the time to be the touching transformation of the rebellious and sullen 17 year old Alex into a surrogate mother to her blossoming 10 year old sister Scottie. George Clooney was just the right choice to portray Matt, father to the two girls. He was funny, and perplexed, and ever respectful of his unfaithful wife who lay comatose from a boating accident. I look for emotion in my movie choices.
Then I read the book. It was better than the movie because the movie missed the key reason why Matt made the decision he did in hanging on to the ancestral land that he was shepherding. In reading, I formed a deep respect for author Hemming's use of language and understanding of the teenagers in the movie, Alex and her friend Sid. I also appreciated Hemming's skill as she seamlessly glided back and forth between advancing the story while filling in the backstory, avoiding any flashbacks.
Then I listened to the audio book, and was delighted to get an even deeper appreciation for the journey that Matt made, growing into his role as father to his children. It's a thoroughly engaging story, ultimately arriving at the moment when Matt forgives his unworthy dying wife. It seems morose when I write it down here, but this is a funny, and affecting story that rings true from beginning to end.
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