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Susan Salter Reynolds in her ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' review writes of Vowell: "Her cleverness is gorgeously American: She collects facts and stores them like a nervous chipmunk, digesting them only for the sake of argument. Her curiosity is fueled by indignation. She insists, like a good empiricist, on seeing the people and places she writes about. She is the queen of that great American institution: the road trip."<ref>{{cite news|last=Salter Reynolds|first=Susan|title=Book review: 'Unfamiliar Fishes' by Sarah Vowell: The 'Partly Cloudy Patriot' author takes on American imperialism and exceptionalism.|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/26/entertainment/la-et-book-20110326|accessdate=21 September 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=26 March 2011}}</ref> [[Michiko Kakutani]] in ''[[The New York Times]]'' is unimpressed, condemning Vowell's self indulgent style, writing: "Certainly at a time when ignorance and historical illiteracy are rampant, there is a place for books that make the past relevant and easy to digest for the casual reader. But Ms. Vowell’s determination to render history user-friendly often feels reductive and condescending, and her contemporary analogies can be strained."<ref>{{cite news|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|title=Some Stuff She Knows About Hawaii|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/books/hawaii-in-unfamiliar-fishes-by-sarah-vowell-review.html|accessdate=21 September 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 April |
Susan Salter Reynolds in her ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' review writes of Vowell: "Her cleverness is gorgeously American: She collects facts and stores them like a nervous chipmunk, digesting them only for the sake of argument. Her curiosity is fueled by indignation. She insists, like a good empiricist, on seeing the people and places she writes about. She is the queen of that great American institution: the road trip."<ref>{{cite news|last=Salter Reynolds|first=Susan|title=Book review: 'Unfamiliar Fishes' by Sarah Vowell: The 'Partly Cloudy Patriot' author takes on American imperialism and exceptionalism.|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/26/entertainment/la-et-book-20110326|accessdate=21 September 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=26 March 2011}}</ref> [[Michiko Kakutani]] in ''[[The New York Times]]'' is unimpressed, condemning Vowell's self indulgent style, writing: "Certainly at a time when ignorance and historical illiteracy are rampant, there is a place for books that make the past relevant and easy to digest for the casual reader. But Ms. Vowell’s determination to render history user-friendly often feels reductive and condescending, and her contemporary analogies can be strained."<ref>{{cite news|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|title=Some Stuff She Knows About Hawaii|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/books/hawaii-in-unfamiliar-fishes-by-sarah-vowell-review.html|accessdate=21 September 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 April 2011}}</ref> |
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==Audiobook== |
==Audiobook== |
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Revision as of 04:50, 23 October 2012
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| Author | Sarah Vowell |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | History of Hawaii Missionaries |
| Genre | Nonfiction American History History of Hawaii |
| Publisher | Riverhead Books |
Publication date | 22 March 2011 |
| Publication place | United States of America |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) Audiobook |
| Pages | 238 |
| ISBN | 9781594487873 |
| LC Class | DU625 .V89 2011 |
Unfamiliar Fishes is a nonfiction book by This American Life contributor Sarah Vowell, first published in 2011 in print and audiobook versions.[1][2]
Synopsis
The book takes a humorous tone and examines the fulfillment of American imperialist manifest destiny at the end of the 19th Century as America annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded Cuba, and the Philippines in 1898, in an attempt to become a global power. Vowell then tells the story of the culture clash that ensued following Christian missionaries who then moved in swiftly to try to convert the laid back native Hawaiians to the American way. The title comes from a reference of David Malo.
Reception
Susan Salter Reynolds in her Los Angeles Times review writes of Vowell: "Her cleverness is gorgeously American: She collects facts and stores them like a nervous chipmunk, digesting them only for the sake of argument. Her curiosity is fueled by indignation. She insists, like a good empiricist, on seeing the people and places she writes about. She is the queen of that great American institution: the road trip."[3] Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times is unimpressed, condemning Vowell's self indulgent style, writing: "Certainly at a time when ignorance and historical illiteracy are rampant, there is a place for books that make the past relevant and easy to digest for the casual reader. But Ms. Vowell’s determination to render history user-friendly often feels reductive and condescending, and her contemporary analogies can be strained."[4]
Audiobook
An unabridged audiobook was released by Simon & Schuster on March 22, 2011. It contained a large cast of readers, and music was performed by Michael Giacchino and Grant-Lee Phillips. The cast was:
- Fred Armisen as David Kalākaua, Henry Obookiah, and George Vancouver
- Bill Hader as Rufus Anderson, Captain James Cook, Robert Dampier, Sanford Dole, and Walter Murray Gibson
- John Hodgman as Amos Cooke and Teddy Roosevelt
- Catherine Keener as Lucy Goodale Thurston
- Edward Norton as Hiram Bingham and Grover Cleveland
- Keanu Reeves as David Malo
- Paul Rudd as Lorrin Thurston
- Maya Rudolph as Sybil Bingham and Queen Liluokalani
- John Slattery as Levi Chamberlain, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Ernest Hemingway
References
- ^ Vowell, Sarah (2011). Unfamiliar Fishes. New York: Riverhead Books. ISBN 978-1-59448-787-3.
- ^ Vowell, Sarah (2011). Unfamiliar Fishes. New York: Simon & Schuster Audio.
{{cite book}}:|format=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Salter Reynolds, Susan (26 March 2011). "Book review: 'Unfamiliar Fishes' by Sarah Vowell: The 'Partly Cloudy Patriot' author takes on American imperialism and exceptionalism". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ Kakutani, Michiko (17 April 2011). "Some Stuff She Knows About Hawaii". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2011.