Light Years: A Girlhood in Hawai'i

by Susanna Moore

Wow! I haven't disliked a book this much since. . .

My grievances are as follows:

The title. Light Years: A Girlhood in Hawai'i is the most misleading title I've ever encountered. This book is NOT about her girlhood in Hawai'i.

The content. Each chapter begins with some random story about her childhood in Hawai'i (10 pages or less) and is then followed by pages and pages and pages of excerpts from books that the author allegedly read during her girlhood.

These excerpts comprise most of the book. And they're hard to read, as they are just thrown in there with no real purpose or introduction. I love great literature, but I have no desire to read Robinson Crusoe in bits and pieces.

The memoir portion. There's nothing particularly fascinating about her actual remembrances. And sometimes she includes things like Hawaiian history or myths.

I really do not understand the purpose of this book. At all.

4/11/08