Logs in the current of the sea: Neli Lifuka's story of Kioa and the Vaitupu colonists

by Neli Lifuka, Neli Lifuka, Klaus Friedrich Koch (Editor)

Genres: Nonfiction

110 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Rosamund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting as a voice from Tuvalu.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly interesting autobiographical account of a Tuvalu man, and his eventual involvement in the purchase of an uninhabited Fijian island, subsequently colonised by a number of immigrants from Tuvalu. It's quite short, and I'm not sure that the editing has done it any favours. Much of the autobiographical content, which makes up the bulk of the work, has been taken down from oral records by the editor, who has also contributed a short essay at the end of the book. There are some endnotes, but I tend to think that these could have been more extensive; as it is, this feels as if it's all a bit bare-boned - as if the editor's directing this book at an already quite well-informed audience. Not being so knowledgeable, I'd have liked to have a broader cultural and political context to get a clearer picture, as it were.

[Victoria]

Reading around the world: Tuvalu.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly interesting, as the other review called it, is the perfect description. The writing style is not very good, which makes the story feel very emotionally detached. A lot of unnecessary detail is given to financial and trading descriptions that I personally did not find interesting. I would have preferred to learn more about the local culture… nevertheless, I learned some interesting tidbits and the book gave me the necessary key words for a little Wikipedia spree. All in all, an acceptable entry for Tuvalu in my Global Reading challenge!