The Descendants: A Novel

When I saw that this book was the basis for Alexander Payne's upcoming movie, I rushed out to buy and read it before the film hit the screens here. Payne's films - About Schmidt , Sideways , and my personal favorite, Election - are small masterpieces of storytelling. I can see why Kaui Hart Hemmings' debut novel appealed to Payne: it's just his size. It's a small, very well told story with equal parts of tragedy and comedy. I can't say for certain that Ms. Hart Hemmings had dreams of George Clooney as her Matt King, but she tucked a neat little throwaway into the book indicating she was thinking about it (Matt's daughter Scottie wears a t-shirt that says simply "Mrs. Clooney"). Regardless, you'll read the book with Clooney in your head saying the words. Again, like Payne and the story, Clooney and King seem a perfect match. At its heart, this book relates the unfolding of a tragic event. But there are nuggets of pure, sly comedy on each page. It's nothing over the top. If you're invested in the stories and characters, you stumble over these small lines and simply laugh at how perfectly realized they are. I flagged this one on p. 138 (paperback movie tie-in edition) as what I found to be a great encapsulation of what I mean: "We follow Ralph to the parking lot. I force my shoulders down and take a deep breath. I watch my family walking in front of me. They look normal from the back. They look good." The humor in that, of course, is at that point of the story, you know Matt thinks of his family - threatening to come apart at the seams - as anything but normal. But from behind...who can tell? Little gems like that abound in the book. My judgment is that, movie or not, the book stands on its own merits as an excellent work. It's surely one of the best novels I've read this year, right alongside Ann Patchett's State of Wonder .

I never considered reading The Decendents. I had seen the movie and while I enjoyed it...I didn't love it enough to bother with the book. Way too many other books I wanted to read. But I am a sucker for a good Kindle Daily Deal, so I ended up reading The Decendents after all. I liked this book a lot. It was actually very similar to the movie, which made me happy. It's not often that you get to read a novel and see the movie adaption and they are close to identical (I think the only book/movie that comes to mind is Mystic River). There were a few characters that I didn't remember from the movie (then again, it's been close to two years since I saw the movie) and a few changed scenes but I applaud whoever wrote the screenplay for their integrity of keeping the story intact. This novel was a tear jerker. Even after seeing the movie, and knowing what was going to happen I could not help but tear up quite a few times. I think the only thing that saved me from totally bawling at the end was the fact I was sitting in a parking lot waiting for a friend to come out of a job fair. The plot was very well done, though, I wasn't completely sold on the secondary plot. It worked but I'm not sure it was completely fleshed out at the end. The characters weren't always likable, but they were extremely real. Maybe it was because of the movie but it was very easy to see the characters and the story being played out.

This is the story of a man (Matt) and his two young daughters (Alex and Scottie) coming to terms with taking their wife and mother (Joanie) off life support after a boating accident leaves her in an irreversible coma. The story takes place in Hawaii. No spoilers, but Matt finds out that Joanie had been having an affair. Intertwined is the story of Matt's dilemma concerning whether to sell Hawaiian property inherited from his ancestors. This book was adapted into a movie in 2011. I love the movie. I usually watch it about once a year. The book adds so much to this beautiful story. I understand more fully Matt's decision about selling the land. There is much more about the character Sid. I feel like I know who Joanie (Elizabeth in the movie) is. The humor is the laugh-out-loud kind. It is definitely worth your time to read the book, whether or not you have seen the movie.

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.

Though traditionally this book would not of caught my eye I was interested in reading it because of my love for Hawaii. From the start the author did an admirable job of creating irritating spoiled children in the characters of Scottie and Alex. The addition of Alex's friend, Sid who has his own set of problems and annoyingness rounded off for me a difficult read. It is not that the book isn't well written but I wanted to take all of them over my knee and spank them or hug them to death. As a mother I was stressed during this whole book and angry with Matt that he had not been more present in his daughter's upbringing and he allowed his wife free rein without question. As the story went on though he started to show superb judgement in how he handled so many of the new situations that showed up. The author did a fine job in the steadiness of Matt still making mistakes and where his aha moments happened, causing a change in his thoughts and actions. Joanie is written in a very believable manner and one wonders if she ever thought of the damage she was doing to her children or if she was that clueless that she thought she was helping them. Her character is not likable for all the thoughtless damage she did to everyone around. For me the interaction between Matt and Sid was the most impactful part of the story. Both of these two saved each other is ways that only they understood. What these two did for each other was amazing and heartfelt making me cry. For this review I listened to it via audible and referenced the ebook version as well. I wonder if I had only read the book if I would have had a different outcome in my review. Though I haven't seen the movie I wonder how this book would come across on the screen so out of curiosity I will see it though. I give this 3-1/2 STARS.

An excellent book. The last couple of chapters wandered a little but the rest of it was so good, that made up for it. Lots of humor! Life lessons.

In many ways,The Descendants is a tragic tale. Matthew King is on the brink of losing everything -- his wife, his two daughters, property owned by his family for generations and, most of all, his dignity. In the midst of this, King learns his comatose wife was having an affair. As "descending" is defined, King's life is coming down, falling apart. This book is also about surviving, which Matthew King makes happen. He provides comfort and support for his daughters, confronts the lover, and makes the needed medical and financial decisions. Kaui Hart Hemmings' characters are so real it's hard to believe this is fiction. Though young, she's a magnificent writer who's able to tell the story through King's eyes. Her characters are alive, and I felt as if I were there with them. The Descendants is beautifully written by a brilliant and gifted author. I couldn't put it down. Laurie Ames Birnsteel Kahala

Wonderful story. True to life drama. Helpless father, wise ass kids. Loved the history too. Better than the film, which I also enjoyed.