Bruce Crumley

Maika'i Stink Eye Bruce Crumley

Midwesterner Tanner Fahte, blissful in his new life on the north shore of Kaua'i, pursues his lifelong (if quixotic) dream of melding into a Hawaiian community he has revered since childhood. "The only word to describe it is maika'i," Tanner enthuses, using the all-purpose Hawaiian word for good, well, right and generally neato. The tropical climes, natural beauty, and cultural affinity make him "as happy as a sow in slop!" Politically left of Bernie - and of an ethical rigor that makes Gandhi seem like The Donald - Tanner's convictions and integrationist zeal eventually bring him into the independence movement. Along with kanaka members, he presses for the restoration of Hawaiian national sovereignty, and restitution of land and riches stolen by whites after the illegal 1893 destitution of the monarchy, U. S. annexation and extension of statehood. Tanner's adoring but mercurial wife, Heike, could live without his over-the top, wannabe activism, and keeps him in line just enough to prevent him from making paradise a pain in the 'elemu. But an old kanaka man, Ka'imipono, claims ownership of their property, creating a serious kink in this north shore nirvana. After first dismissing the yammering coot as either a con artist or a doddering loony, Tanner comes to understand the depth of his dilemma when Ka'imipono presents a compelling historical case to substantiate his story. Both fascinated and alarmed, Tanner recognizes Ka'imipono and his ancestral land as a living link to Kaua'i's past - and as a personal challenge to rectify the theft of "his" property from inhabitants dispossessed after the 1893 coup. Can Tanner afford to sacrifice his home and life savings to right the historical wrongs he's unknowingly inherited - and exemplify the wider justice he believes Hawai'i is due? Could he live with himself in betraying his sense of right by protecting his narrow self-interests; passing this historic buck like so many haoles before him; and rebuffing Ka'imipono's claim as invalid under U. S. law? Can a man of even the most noble spirit and utmost reverence for the past be expected to walk away from his beloved adopted home, and his dreams, to accept destitution in a quest for right? With the help and cajoling of Ka'imipono and his extended 'ohana, Tanner gawkily navigates his quandary in ways both funny and touching as he seeks to reconcile Hawaiian identity, history and legacy with his own. Along the way, he not only restores meaning to life he feared he'd forsaken, but ensures that it is pretty goldarn maika'i to boot