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Kava in the Blood: A Personal & Political Memoir from the Heart of Fiji
"The literary device of juxtaposing the story of the Fiji coup against autobiographical reminiscences of a Fiji background works very well. This is an excellent story, beautifully written and skilfully mixing the personal with the political .. The EH McCormick Award for the Best First Book of Non Fiction, sponsored by the New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN Inc) and Creative New Zealand, goes to Kava in the Blood by Peter Thomson." - Judges Report, Montana New Zealand Book Awards, 2000. Entwined through the author's reportage of the 1987 coups is an evocative picture of life in the islands. Thus, Kava in the Blood is also an intriguing story of hurricanes, haunted houses and copious kava consumption, set within the dramatic landscapes and vibrant cultures of the Fiji Islands.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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About the author
Peter Thomson
120 books8 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 9, 2017
This review in an excerpt from a longer review on my blog, Around the World in 2000 Books.
The book opens with the first of Fiji's coups, in May of 1987, and ends with the second, in September of the same year. Between these two upheavals, Thomson acted as the permanent secretary to the governor general (later president), Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, who attempted to restore order to the fractured political system. Thomson alternates incredibly tedious and repetitive accounts of the political intricacies of the inter-coup period with memories from his idyllic Fijian childhood. Thomson warns us, in his Foreword, that the book is disjointed. "It has been suggested to me," he writes, "that I should have written two books rather than the one that is presented here." I thought this was authorial modesty when I read it but he's not kidding--the two halves of the book don't come together in any way. That being said, I was glad for these nostalgic intervals, non sequitur though they generally were, because they tended to be slightly more interesting than the deathly dull political chapters.
Granted that political history isn't exactly my cup of Kava, I still think that more skill on Thomson's part could have livened it up a bit. Part of the problem was a lack of characterization: Thomson might write that "so-and-so was a good man" or "so-and-so had a mischievous sense of humor" but there's very little dialogue or description to back it up. He seems more concerned with justifying his actions, and those of Ratu Penaia, than in telling a story that can be read for its own sake. I think if you were already familiar with the events and main characters of the coup it might be more interesting and easier to follow, but as it is, for the reader without a background in Fijian political history, it is an unnavigable morass of names and meetings and political squabbles.
The book opens with the first of Fiji's coups, in May of 1987, and ends with the second, in September of the same year. Between these two upheavals, Thomson acted as the permanent secretary to the governor general (later president), Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, who attempted to restore order to the fractured political system. Thomson alternates incredibly tedious and repetitive accounts of the political intricacies of the inter-coup period with memories from his idyllic Fijian childhood. Thomson warns us, in his Foreword, that the book is disjointed. "It has been suggested to me," he writes, "that I should have written two books rather than the one that is presented here." I thought this was authorial modesty when I read it but he's not kidding--the two halves of the book don't come together in any way. That being said, I was glad for these nostalgic intervals, non sequitur though they generally were, because they tended to be slightly more interesting than the deathly dull political chapters.
Granted that political history isn't exactly my cup of Kava, I still think that more skill on Thomson's part could have livened it up a bit. Part of the problem was a lack of characterization: Thomson might write that "so-and-so was a good man" or "so-and-so had a mischievous sense of humor" but there's very little dialogue or description to back it up. He seems more concerned with justifying his actions, and those of Ratu Penaia, than in telling a story that can be read for its own sake. I think if you were already familiar with the events and main characters of the coup it might be more interesting and easier to follow, but as it is, for the reader without a background in Fijian political history, it is an unnavigable morass of names and meetings and political squabbles.
August 28, 2018
This was a fantastic book. The perfect combination of political recap from the 1987 coup and the authors personal descriptions of Island life. Thomson grew up in Fiji and served in many different government positions (as did his father, grand-father, and great-grandfather, all English men). His descriptions of the beauty of the remote islands, the character and culture of isolated interior villages, the attitudes and customs of things unique to Fiji, like Kava, all made for a fun and insightful read. Highly recommended to anybody considering visiting Fiji. Favorite so far of the 8 or so books I've read about the area.
November 29, 2014
There was a coup d'etat in Fiji in 1987 and in this book the author tells us about it, 'to put the record straight' as he says. He grew up in Fiji and interspersed with the political history he tells us about the island nation, its people and legends, and his own childhood.
The two strands of the story work surprisingly well together, unless you are are student of political history. This is the blood and the heart of Fiji.
The writing style is a little old-fashioned and ponderous, but overall it is an interesting and informative book.
The two strands of the story work surprisingly well together, unless you are are student of political history. This is the blood and the heart of Fiji.
The writing style is a little old-fashioned and ponderous, but overall it is an interesting and informative book.
September 23, 2024
55%. An interesting personal look at a turbulent time in Fiji's history.
Peter Thomson was part of the administration when a military coup took over Fiji in 1987. He assisted in trying to find a peaceful solution to the tensions, negotiating between indigenous fijeans and the largely Indian diaspora that made up the pre-coup ruling party.
It took me a chapter or two to get into the book, but when I did it was an easy read. The best parts, in my opinion, where Thomson's personal reminiscences of his childhood and early life on the islands. I found his accounts of the actual coup somewhat dry, they read like governmental briefings. After he was ousted though the account was more personal and more enjoyable.
Overall the book was well-written and it gives a intriguing glimpse into a very turbulent period. Though it deals only with nationalism and immigration in terms of Fiji, it is easy to see the same processes writ large across many parts of the globe.
Peter Thomson was part of the administration when a military coup took over Fiji in 1987. He assisted in trying to find a peaceful solution to the tensions, negotiating between indigenous fijeans and the largely Indian diaspora that made up the pre-coup ruling party.
It took me a chapter or two to get into the book, but when I did it was an easy read. The best parts, in my opinion, where Thomson's personal reminiscences of his childhood and early life on the islands. I found his accounts of the actual coup somewhat dry, they read like governmental briefings. After he was ousted though the account was more personal and more enjoyable.
Overall the book was well-written and it gives a intriguing glimpse into a very turbulent period. Though it deals only with nationalism and immigration in terms of Fiji, it is easy to see the same processes writ large across many parts of the globe.
December 2, 2025
This book was basically about the 1987 coup d’etat in Fiji (when it was under British rule, a bunch of Indians were sent to work in the country and soon they outnumbered the indigenous Fijians which led to a bunch of ethnic tensions so the first coup was to overthrow the first prime minister to be mostly backed by Indo-Fijians and the second coup resulted in Fiji become independent I think).
The book is the author’s experience growing up in Fiji during this time and his experience working at the Government House and the author explores his love for his country and how this dramatic shift in national identity forced him to tear away from his homeland in a sense.
Everything about this book was very close to perfect tbh top tier nonfiction for me 8/10
The book is the author’s experience growing up in Fiji during this time and his experience working at the Government House and the author explores his love for his country and how this dramatic shift in national identity forced him to tear away from his homeland in a sense.
Everything about this book was very close to perfect tbh top tier nonfiction for me 8/10
June 23, 2021
Global Read 136: Fiji
For a book about 2 coups, this was surprisingly boring. There was a lot of bureaucratic minutia and it wasn't until the last third of the book that things got interesting. There was a lot of writing that was jarring. The author is Fijian but also white and he seemed not really to understand why indigenous Fijians had any animosity toward white people and at one point had a line like colonialism is dead and buried. The descriptions of the beautiful islands and some of the rituals were very interesting.
For a book about 2 coups, this was surprisingly boring. There was a lot of bureaucratic minutia and it wasn't until the last third of the book that things got interesting. There was a lot of writing that was jarring. The author is Fijian but also white and he seemed not really to understand why indigenous Fijians had any animosity toward white people and at one point had a line like colonialism is dead and buried. The descriptions of the beautiful islands and some of the rituals were very interesting.
August 23, 2025
Well. This book was written by someone who was somewhat involved with one of (it turns out many) coups from fiji. He writes it to try to justify himself but also intersperses chapters about his growing up in Fiji which i can only imagine are in there to make you care about him and an otherwise dry boring subject. I really didn't enjoy this book at all and only finished it because there isn't much literature from Fiji for my Read The World challenge. All I can say is Thank God that's over. Maybe whatever country in Asia comes after F alphabetically will be better.
June 17, 2017
Reading the world in books: Fiji.
November 19, 2021
#readtheworld Fiji
November 25, 2018
A very detailed account about both the author's family ties to Fiji and growing up as a "kavalaini" or non-native Fijian. The book centers on events during the 1987 coup which uprooted his family and forever changed his relationship to his home country. A hauntingly beautiful quote follows:
"Exile is a state of mind where boundaries are bittersweet memories of that which will never be again, and nostalgia is its curse. It is a state of defeat, as frail existences fall... one by one. Our years depart like ships over the southern horizon. Acceptance finally sets in that all things do pass, that change is constant... and the job of defining ourselves is ours alone." p. 332
"Exile is a state of mind where boundaries are bittersweet memories of that which will never be again, and nostalgia is its curse. It is a state of defeat, as frail existences fall... one by one. Our years depart like ships over the southern horizon. Acceptance finally sets in that all things do pass, that change is constant... and the job of defining ourselves is ours alone." p. 332
November 6, 2019
I read this book for my English class and overall it was pretty good! Textbooky type stuff isn’t exactly my cup of tea, but I liked how it was interwoven with stories of the culture.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews