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Stories of Hawaii
Thirteen yarns drawn from the famous author's love affair with Hawaii Nei. London was at the peak of his powers when he wrote them. Foreword by A. Grove Day.
282 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
36 people are currently reading
437 people want to read
About the author
Jack London
7,626 books7,684 followersJohn Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.
London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.
His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".
London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.
His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
January 6, 2021
Reading Road Trip 2020
Current location: Hawaii
“I warn you, if you have some spot dear to you on earth, not to linger here too long, else you will find this dearer.”
It took me three attempts to find the right story set in Hawaii. Good news: the third time was the charm for me.
I loved this short story collection, comprised in two parts: “The House of Pride,” published in 1909 and “On the Makaloa Mat,” published in 1918 and 1919.
You might be tempted to think. . . oh, it's probably dated. If you did, you'd be wrong. You might be tempted to think. . . Jack London? Oh, these stories are probably too masculine for me. If you did, you'd be wrong.
These stories are so alive, it's as though they are characters themselves. This collection is incredibly vibrant and Mr. London did a masterful job of representing the diversity of the Hawaiian islands: the “coolies” (the Chinese immigrants), the Japanese, the native Hawaiians, and the “haoles,” (the white folks).
He also taught me quite a bit about the individual islands and their histories (without actually teaching me, if you know what I mean). He showed me, through stories.
I learned more about leprosy than ever before, and I was up until midnight, reading about the worldwide ramifications of this disease, and then up until 1am wondering if I had it. (I should never, ever go onto WebMD).
“Koolau the Leper,” a story about a man with leprosy, fighting for his right to die privately, with dignity, just about snapped my heart in two, while, “Aloha Oe” reminded me of the power of young love, and made me cry.
“Chun Ah Chun” and “The Tears of Ah Kim” were celebrations of rags to riches success stories for Chinese immigrants and both of them took me by surprise, both by their mastery and their ability to show me what life could be like for Asian immigrants in Hawaii at the beginning of the twentieth century.
It's important to remember this: these are early stories of Hawaii, decades before the United States “acquired” it as a state. Mr. London and his second wife traveled there, by leaky boat, in the early years of the 1900s, and what he documented here is. . . precious. Seriously, what a time capsule this is, of a Hawaii that none of us know.
Yet, though these stories are 100+ years old, they are so inspiring, I'm willing to wear an N95 mask for a seven hour flight just to get my haole ass right back to my little grass shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii.
What a fantastic collection and reminder for me that I need to read more Jack London!
Current location: Hawaii
“I warn you, if you have some spot dear to you on earth, not to linger here too long, else you will find this dearer.”
It took me three attempts to find the right story set in Hawaii. Good news: the third time was the charm for me.
I loved this short story collection, comprised in two parts: “The House of Pride,” published in 1909 and “On the Makaloa Mat,” published in 1918 and 1919.
You might be tempted to think. . . oh, it's probably dated. If you did, you'd be wrong. You might be tempted to think. . . Jack London? Oh, these stories are probably too masculine for me. If you did, you'd be wrong.
These stories are so alive, it's as though they are characters themselves. This collection is incredibly vibrant and Mr. London did a masterful job of representing the diversity of the Hawaiian islands: the “coolies” (the Chinese immigrants), the Japanese, the native Hawaiians, and the “haoles,” (the white folks).
He also taught me quite a bit about the individual islands and their histories (without actually teaching me, if you know what I mean). He showed me, through stories.
I learned more about leprosy than ever before, and I was up until midnight, reading about the worldwide ramifications of this disease, and then up until 1am wondering if I had it. (I should never, ever go onto WebMD).
“Koolau the Leper,” a story about a man with leprosy, fighting for his right to die privately, with dignity, just about snapped my heart in two, while, “Aloha Oe” reminded me of the power of young love, and made me cry.
“Chun Ah Chun” and “The Tears of Ah Kim” were celebrations of rags to riches success stories for Chinese immigrants and both of them took me by surprise, both by their mastery and their ability to show me what life could be like for Asian immigrants in Hawaii at the beginning of the twentieth century.
It's important to remember this: these are early stories of Hawaii, decades before the United States “acquired” it as a state. Mr. London and his second wife traveled there, by leaky boat, in the early years of the 1900s, and what he documented here is. . . precious. Seriously, what a time capsule this is, of a Hawaii that none of us know.
Yet, though these stories are 100+ years old, they are so inspiring, I'm willing to wear an N95 mask for a seven hour flight just to get my haole ass right back to my little grass shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii.
What a fantastic collection and reminder for me that I need to read more Jack London!
December 5, 2022
Stories of Hawaii was a wonderful collection of short stories that were written by Jack London over the years. It is said in the introduction to the book I have that London showed a great aloha for the Paradise of the Pacific over a period of thirteen years where in the islands he had explored surfboard riding of Waikiki. He and his wife frequented the islands over the years before his death at the age of forty. Fascinated with the island of Molokai for victims of leprosy and their helpers, a few of his stories in this edition are about that island and the people and the efforts of Father Damien and the Hawaiin people to handle the problem of this disease by the isolation of its victims. Three outstanding stories about leprosy in this edition are: The House of Pride, Koolau the Leper, and Good-bye, Jack. There is also a section of short stories entitled On the Makaloa Mat, and finally a section entitled Other Writings.
A. Grove Day of the University of Hawaii noted in his introduction in 1964 as follows:
A. Grove Day of the University of Hawaii noted in his introduction in 1964 as follows:
"Much of Jack London's best writing, one must conclude, was done in Hawaii and the Pacific. Although the stories with a Pacific setting are often overlooked by readers of his other works, those describing the adventures to be found in this biggest of oceans, and particularly in the Hawaiin Islands he loved so well, should be remembered and read."
November 4, 2011
I received this book as a gift from a friend who had gone back to Hawaii to visit her family. It was a pleasant surprise to find this book among others in the box she'd sent me as I didn't realize Jack London wrote a collection of short stories about Hawaii.
All said, I liked the various points of view depicted in the short stories. They are told from a myriad of perspectives that range from the Hawaiians all the way to the hodgepodge of races that migrated to the islands. A few stories even included the leper colony that once resided on Molokai.
I had some favorite passages from the section entitled: From "My Hawaiian Aloha." As a reader (and former resident of Hawaii) this short essay was a great way to end the book as it mirrored my own sentiments about the place.
"Otherwise it was with Mark Twain, who wrote of Hawaii long after his visit: 'No alien land in all the world has any deep, strong charm for me but that one; no other land so longingly and so beseechingly haunt me, sleeping and waking, through half a lifetime, as that one has done. Other things leave me, but it abides; other things change, but it remains the same. For me its balmy airs are always blowing, its summer seas flashing in the sun; the pulsing of its surf beat is in my ears; I can see its garlanded crags, its leaping cascades, its plumy palms drowsing by the shore, its remote spirit of its woodland solitudes; I can hear the splash of its brooks; in my nostrils still lives the breath of flowers that perished twenty years ago."
"But to return. Hawaii is the home of shanghaied men and women, who were induced to remain, not by a blow with a club over the head or a doped bottle of whiskey, but by love. Hawaii and the Hawaiians are a land and a people loving and lovable. By their language may ye know them, and in what other land save this one is the commonest form of greeting, not "Good day," nor "How d'ye do," but "Love"? That greeting is Aloha - love, I love you, my love to you. Good day - what is it more than an impersonal remark about the weather? How do you do - it is personal in a merely casual interrogative sort of way. But Aloha! It is a positive affirmation of the warmth of one's own heart-giving. My love to you! I love you! Aloha!"
"When Hawaii was named the Paradise of the Pacific, it was inadequately named. The rest of the Seven Seas and the islands in the midst thereof should have been included along with Pacific. 'See Naples and die' - they spell it differently here: See Hawaii and live."
All said, I liked the various points of view depicted in the short stories. They are told from a myriad of perspectives that range from the Hawaiians all the way to the hodgepodge of races that migrated to the islands. A few stories even included the leper colony that once resided on Molokai.
I had some favorite passages from the section entitled: From "My Hawaiian Aloha." As a reader (and former resident of Hawaii) this short essay was a great way to end the book as it mirrored my own sentiments about the place.
"Otherwise it was with Mark Twain, who wrote of Hawaii long after his visit: 'No alien land in all the world has any deep, strong charm for me but that one; no other land so longingly and so beseechingly haunt me, sleeping and waking, through half a lifetime, as that one has done. Other things leave me, but it abides; other things change, but it remains the same. For me its balmy airs are always blowing, its summer seas flashing in the sun; the pulsing of its surf beat is in my ears; I can see its garlanded crags, its leaping cascades, its plumy palms drowsing by the shore, its remote spirit of its woodland solitudes; I can hear the splash of its brooks; in my nostrils still lives the breath of flowers that perished twenty years ago."
"But to return. Hawaii is the home of shanghaied men and women, who were induced to remain, not by a blow with a club over the head or a doped bottle of whiskey, but by love. Hawaii and the Hawaiians are a land and a people loving and lovable. By their language may ye know them, and in what other land save this one is the commonest form of greeting, not "Good day," nor "How d'ye do," but "Love"? That greeting is Aloha - love, I love you, my love to you. Good day - what is it more than an impersonal remark about the weather? How do you do - it is personal in a merely casual interrogative sort of way. But Aloha! It is a positive affirmation of the warmth of one's own heart-giving. My love to you! I love you! Aloha!"
"When Hawaii was named the Paradise of the Pacific, it was inadequately named. The rest of the Seven Seas and the islands in the midst thereof should have been included along with Pacific. 'See Naples and die' - they spell it differently here: See Hawaii and live."
October 25, 2011
Unlike the other book in this two-book ring (Nordic Nights) which I couldn't get into, I enjoyed this one very much. I've never been to Hawaii, but definitely want to go after reading this collection. I enjoyed the stories and the glimpse back in time that they provided -- Jack London is an excellent author, of course, and does a fantastic job of capturing what must be the essence of Hawaii at that time. My favorite piece, though, was the non-fiction essay about surfing (or "surf-riding" as London calls it). I did a little bit of surfing myself in Southern California so this really struck a chord with me. All in all, a beautiful book
May 30, 2016
The good: I needed information on turn-of-the-20th-century Hawaii, and London's lush descriptions caused me to make many notes. The bad: overall, the content of these stories struck me as dreadfully dull, and it made for a slow, torturous read. I often read nonfiction faster than this. The character development dragged, and many stories resolved around the theme of affairs or similar interpersonal drama, plus a fixation on leprosy. I loved the actual details about Hawaii, its history, and its water; it's easy to see that London fell in love with the islands.
January 2, 2015
"But to return. Hawaii is the home of shanghaied men and women, who were induced to remain, not by a blow with a club over the head or a doped bottle of whiskey, but by love. Hawaii and the Hawaiians are a land and a people loving and lovable. By their language may ye know them, and in what other land save this one is the commonest form of greeting, not "Good day," nor "How d'ye do," but "Love"? That greeting is Aloha - love, I love you, my love to you. Good day - what is it more than an impersonal remark about the weather? How do you do - it is personal in a merely casual interrogative sort of way. But Aloha! It is a positive affirmation of the warmth of one's own heart-giving. My love to you! I love you! Aloha!"
December 5, 2013
uhh...Jack London is a fine writer, but these short stories are not his best work.
December 8, 2021
It's rather amazing how well Mr London absorbed the culture the patois and the various kinds of people which made up the melting pot of early 20th C. Hawaii. Coming there as I did for four years in the later mid-century (1961-65) at the age of six I turned out completly different than I would have had I remained a mainlander at that age. The islands are a completely different mindgame than the Mainland, in so many ways. And there's a lot of interesting things happening in his stories, which are actually well written and descriptive in ways that turn my mere memories into vivid pictures and image sagain. Ah well. It's a lost world, the one he's writing about. All the islands are now lost prey to the tourist game, the sugar cane and pineapple fields I knew on Oahu have all gone to tract homes, my childhood home is now a state park, and I still feel more present remembering the islands as I knew them, as to save my soul from the heartbreak which would befall it ere I should ever return...
August 15, 2025
These stories hold a wealth of detail about how Hawai'i was in the 1910's, and I think that is their strongest point. They provide a firsthand account of how whites of the time saw Hawai'i, and how they saw their role in Hawaiian history and society. Now, this is also their biggest problem, at least for me. The stories are infused with a romantized vision of how Americans and Europeans stole Hawai'i from the Kānaka Maoli. I recommend to read a neutral account of the history of the Kingdom of Hawai'i and its occupation by the US, to be able to better appreciate the enormous hypocrisy in Jack London and the "missionary crowd". I'm used to the deep racism in writings from this time, but in this case it really disgusted me at times. The narrative itself is varied: some stories are engaging, some are boring, most are repetitive. I give this three stars for it's historical value, but a fun read it is not.
August 26, 2024
Jack London x Hawai’i crossover!
These stories were interesting to read, especially when looking at the content from the context of not only the 21st century, but also after taking a history of the hawaiian people class. Unsurprisingly the rich white transplant had some very interesting descriptions and connotations that made me cringe. Taking into consideration the time/norms but also Jack Londons writing merited a 3 star rating I guess.
My favorite story was by far the personal one about learning how to surf. It captured the true experience of learning how to surf at waikiki and it was lovely to relive that
These stories were interesting to read, especially when looking at the content from the context of not only the 21st century, but also after taking a history of the hawaiian people class. Unsurprisingly the rich white transplant had some very interesting descriptions and connotations that made me cringe. Taking into consideration the time/norms but also Jack Londons writing merited a 3 star rating I guess.
My favorite story was by far the personal one about learning how to surf. It captured the true experience of learning how to surf at waikiki and it was lovely to relive that
April 18, 2018
I read “Call of the Wild” and “White Fang” as a child in school. I began reading Jack London’s other books as an adult in my 50’s and wondered why I had the impression that he wrote juvenile literature.
This set of short stories in this volume are set in Hawai’i and that is where I read them when visiting that large Big Island. Thoroughly enjoyed each story and since I had been doing some reading on Hawaiian history could appreciate that his stories represented the reality of these islands and their inhabitants.
Not children’s literature; merely good literature well worth reading.
This set of short stories in this volume are set in Hawai’i and that is where I read them when visiting that large Big Island. Thoroughly enjoyed each story and since I had been doing some reading on Hawaiian history could appreciate that his stories represented the reality of these islands and their inhabitants.
Not children’s literature; merely good literature well worth reading.
March 22, 2020
I had no idea about Jack London’s time spent in Hawaii and how he wrote a lot of his works while living there.
It has some of the sexism and racism that you’d expect for a haole of that era, but he does seem to really love Hawaii. Some, if not many of the stories are based on actual events, including the stories about leprosy.
One valuable thing about this collection of short stories is what it captures about a certain time period in Hawaii.
It has some of the sexism and racism that you’d expect for a haole of that era, but he does seem to really love Hawaii. Some, if not many of the stories are based on actual events, including the stories about leprosy.
One valuable thing about this collection of short stories is what it captures about a certain time period in Hawaii.
February 7, 2021
Jack London visited the territory of Hawai'i during the early part of the 20th century and this collection of short stories reflects his keen interest in the people, their history and culture. He writes knowledgeably and sympathetically and covers family life, surfing, the lepers on Molokai, Hawaiian royalty, Chinese laborers and business owners, and racist beliefs held by the missionaries and other white settlers on the islands.
I am not a fan of the short story format, but, this is probably about as good as it gets.
I am not a fan of the short story format, but, this is probably about as good as it gets.
September 18, 2022
3.5*
Read this one on a flight from Maui to San Francisco and greatly enjoyed it, especially the first part - “The House of Pride”.
My favourite stories:
“Koolau the Leper”
“Good-by, Jack”
“The Sheriff of Kona”
“On the Makaloa Mat”
‘And I warn you, if you have some spot dear to you on earth, not to linger here too long, else you will find this dearer.’
Read this one on a flight from Maui to San Francisco and greatly enjoyed it, especially the first part - “The House of Pride”.
My favourite stories:
“Koolau the Leper”
“Good-by, Jack”
“The Sheriff of Kona”
“On the Makaloa Mat”
‘And I warn you, if you have some spot dear to you on earth, not to linger here too long, else you will find this dearer.’
January 27, 2019
Racist in places, but London's appreciation for the physicality of Hawai'i and its diversity is palpable. I love his singular bluntness of world-view, and as in the Sea Wolf, his attitude towards surfing is "what man has done, I can do."
May 9, 2019
The good: London is a wonderful writer with great stories
The bad: You'll really want to go to Hawaii after the read
The bad: You'll really want to go to Hawaii after the read
May 5, 2020
Enjoyable! I had no idea he'd lived in Hawaii. I loved the feel of so many of these tales, though in agreement with the Hawaiians, I wish he hadn't focused QUITE so much on leprosy!!
February 15, 2021
This is not London's best but there were a couple of stories that were worth the read.
June 25, 2023
Many terrific short stories in the anthology. My absolute favorite is 'Ko'o'lau the Leper'.
March 11, 2025
Deep love of Hawaii told in a muscular style, served with the (for the time) expected dose of sexism and racism.
September 9, 2025
Deniz çocuğu, Ah Kim’in Gözyaşları ve Aloha Oe en sevdiğim hikayelerdi.
November 13, 2023
Really only one story here that I would recommend. It was a dollar at half price books
October 27, 2011
Somewhat good...I still think James Michener's "Hawaii" is my favorite fiction about island life that I have read so far. The themes in these stories seemed a little overplayed: the unapologetic leper, the crafty Chinese businessman, the native Hawaiian woman who married a haole and got no love...Perhaps these themes were novel when Jack London published them?
My favorite short stories from the seris: Koolau the Leper (definitely the best, and you can read it online here: http://www.online-literature.com/poe/72/) and Water Baby.
Nice descriptive sequences throughout, like these excerpts from Koolau the Leper:
"We know. We have it from our fathers and our fathers' fathers. They came like lambs, speaking softly. Well might they speak softly, for we were many and strong, and all the islands were ours. As I say, they spoke softly. They were of two kinds. The one kind asked our permission, our gracious permission, to preach to us the word of God. The other kind asked our permission, our gracious permission, to trade with us. That was the beginning. Today all the islands are theirs, all the land, all the cattle--everything is theirs...."
...They sat, flower-garlanded, in the perfumed, luminous night, and their lips made uncouth noises and their throats rasped approval of Koolau's speech. They were creatures who once had been men and women. But they were men and women no longer. They were monsters-- in face and form grotesque caricatures of everything human. They were hideously maimed and distorted, and had the seeming of creatures that had been racked in millenniums of hell. Their hands, when they possessed them, were like harpy claws. Their faces were the misfits and slips, crushed and bruised by some mad god at play in the machinery of life. Here and there were features which the mad god had smeared half away, and one woman wept scalding tears from twin pits of horror, where her eyes once had been....
...And over these things Koolau was king. And this was his kingdom,--a flower-throttled gorge, with beetling cliffs and crags, from which floated the blattings of wild goats. On three sides the grim walls rose, festooned in fantastic draperies of tropic vegetation and pierced by cave-entrances--the rocky lairs of Koolau's subjects. On the fourth side the earth fell away into a tremendous abyss, and, far below, could be seen the summits of lesser peaks and crags, at whose bases foamed and rumbled the Pacific surge. In fine weather a boat could land on the rocky beach that marked the entrance of Kalalau Valley, but the weather must be very fine....
My favorite short stories from the seris: Koolau the Leper (definitely the best, and you can read it online here: http://www.online-literature.com/poe/72/) and Water Baby.
Nice descriptive sequences throughout, like these excerpts from Koolau the Leper:
"We know. We have it from our fathers and our fathers' fathers. They came like lambs, speaking softly. Well might they speak softly, for we were many and strong, and all the islands were ours. As I say, they spoke softly. They were of two kinds. The one kind asked our permission, our gracious permission, to preach to us the word of God. The other kind asked our permission, our gracious permission, to trade with us. That was the beginning. Today all the islands are theirs, all the land, all the cattle--everything is theirs...."
...They sat, flower-garlanded, in the perfumed, luminous night, and their lips made uncouth noises and their throats rasped approval of Koolau's speech. They were creatures who once had been men and women. But they were men and women no longer. They were monsters-- in face and form grotesque caricatures of everything human. They were hideously maimed and distorted, and had the seeming of creatures that had been racked in millenniums of hell. Their hands, when they possessed them, were like harpy claws. Their faces were the misfits and slips, crushed and bruised by some mad god at play in the machinery of life. Here and there were features which the mad god had smeared half away, and one woman wept scalding tears from twin pits of horror, where her eyes once had been....
...And over these things Koolau was king. And this was his kingdom,--a flower-throttled gorge, with beetling cliffs and crags, from which floated the blattings of wild goats. On three sides the grim walls rose, festooned in fantastic draperies of tropic vegetation and pierced by cave-entrances--the rocky lairs of Koolau's subjects. On the fourth side the earth fell away into a tremendous abyss, and, far below, could be seen the summits of lesser peaks and crags, at whose bases foamed and rumbled the Pacific surge. In fine weather a boat could land on the rocky beach that marked the entrance of Kalalau Valley, but the weather must be very fine....
August 1, 2011
These stories portray Hawaii when it was just an American territory and also before the coup. Most of the stories present aspects of Hawaii that people might not be familiar with like the leper colony on Molokai and many ancient customs. These stories really show what Hawaii was like before it was commercialized, and after finishing, I felt like I had a much stronger understanding of the culture there.
May 5, 2013
Jack London is a little bit too much a man's man for me, but many of these stories were interesting, including a shot autobiography in the back. London touches a little on the history of Hawaii in his stories, as well as its unique diversity (at least back then) and leprosy. A lot of leprosy, actually. I guess that was a hot button topic back then.
August 5, 2017
We visited Jack London's neighborhood in Oakland, and we spent a month in western Oahu, far removed from the tourist experience of other parts of the island. We got a glimpse of the resurgence of native Hawaiian culture. With that context, I read London's "Stories of Hawaii" and sympathized greatly with the Hawaiians' lot.
February 23, 2019
If you are thinking of traveling to Hawaii, this book is a must read before going. The stories are short and Jack London wrote them around the turn of the century when Hawaii was really being colonized by the US. Reading it gives you a secret peek into what the islands hold in the folds of their skirts. It is also a keen look into the inner motivations of us all.
October 4, 2013
A delightful compilation of Jack London's short stories about his time in Hawaii in the early 1900s. London was captivated by Hawaiian culture, the mix of Asian influences in the islands, and the art of surfing.
April 26, 2008
Read in Maui sun.
November 14, 2008
His accounts of the Hawaiian Islands and the South Pacific give the impression that he was there and knew what he was talking about.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews