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Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka: The Autobiography of a Sea Trader's Daughter
Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka by Florence (Johnny) Frisbie is the first book written by a Polynesian woman. It tells the amazing story of a young girl growing up on a remote island in the Cook Islands group. Written when Johnny was between the ages of 12 and 14, and published in 1948 when she was 15, Johnny likens her travels through South Pacific islands to those of Ulysses in the Odyssey. Through Johnny’s fresh and unspoiled eyes, we read of a Garden-of-Eden existence on a remote atoll, where the land and the sea provide all that is necessary for life. The sea brings danger as well; Johnny describes the terror of a hurricane that all but destroys a deserted island where she and her family are marooned. The sea rises and floods the entire island to a depth of six feet; they barely survive by tying themselves to the topmost branches of a tall tree. Johnny’s writing sparkles. She has humor and wisdom beyond her years as she describes life and customs on the island where she grew up. Her grandmother’s extended family, the trading station operated by her father, the local witch doctor, a native missionary, her father’s mistress after the death of her mother, and her first boyfriend are among the characters she describes with unflinching honesty. Cut off from the outside world, the island is so remote that six months pass between visits by passing ships. She learns at an early age to be self-reliant. Struck early by tragedy (her mother died when Johnny was nine years old), she helps her father care for four brothers and sisters until he falls ill and dies when she is sixteen. Friends including James A. Michener arrange a foster family in Hawaii where she pursues her education and re-unites with her two sisters. Out of print for more than sixty years, Johnny has added two new chapters to this classic and compelling book and illustrated it with family photos and three maps.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1948
10 people are currently reading
173 people want to read
About the author
Johnny Frisbie
3 books2 followersFlorence Ngatokura "Johnny" Frisbie QSM (born 19 June 1932), also known as Johnny Frisbie Hebenstreit, is a Cook Islands author. Her autobiographical children's novel, Miss Ulysses of Puka-Puka (1948), was the first published literary work by a Pacific Islander woman author.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 9, 2025
#ReadAroundTheWorld # CookIslands
Miss Ulysses of Puka-Puka is the autobiography of Florence (Johnny) Frisbie who was born in Tahiti, grew up on Puka-Puka, and travelled to several other of the Cook Islands. She wrote the story between the ages of 12 and 14 in Pukapukan, English and Cook Islands Mãori. It was first published in 1948 when she was 15 years old. This book was the first to be published by a Pacific Islander woman.
www.islandawe.com
In this book Johnny describes life on Pukapuka and also the adventures her family had sailing to other islands. After the death of her mother from tuberculosis in 1939, they visited several other Cook Islands, including Manihiki and Rarotonga before settling on Suwarrow (Suvorov) which is now a nature reserve, and also spent time in Samoa and Fiji. They faced hurricanes, shipwreck, and the sea rising and covering the island which they survived by tying themselves to the tallest branches of a tree. Johnny’s father was a South Seas trader and also an author himself who encouraged her to learn English and to write.
I enjoyed the youthful perspective, optimism and humour with which Johnny writes. I also loved that when the family returned to Pukapuka the thing the other islanders were most enthusiastic to learn about each different place they had visited was their dance, songs and stories. This is a wonderful portrayal of the Cook Islands in the 1930s and 1940s. As a story there were times when the pacing was a little slow for me, so 3.5 stars all up.
Miss Ulysses of Puka-Puka is the autobiography of Florence (Johnny) Frisbie who was born in Tahiti, grew up on Puka-Puka, and travelled to several other of the Cook Islands. She wrote the story between the ages of 12 and 14 in Pukapukan, English and Cook Islands Mãori. It was first published in 1948 when she was 15 years old. This book was the first to be published by a Pacific Islander woman.
www.islandawe.com
In this book Johnny describes life on Pukapuka and also the adventures her family had sailing to other islands. After the death of her mother from tuberculosis in 1939, they visited several other Cook Islands, including Manihiki and Rarotonga before settling on Suwarrow (Suvorov) which is now a nature reserve, and also spent time in Samoa and Fiji. They faced hurricanes, shipwreck, and the sea rising and covering the island which they survived by tying themselves to the tallest branches of a tree. Johnny’s father was a South Seas trader and also an author himself who encouraged her to learn English and to write.
I enjoyed the youthful perspective, optimism and humour with which Johnny writes. I also loved that when the family returned to Pukapuka the thing the other islanders were most enthusiastic to learn about each different place they had visited was their dance, songs and stories. This is a wonderful portrayal of the Cook Islands in the 1930s and 1940s. As a story there were times when the pacing was a little slow for me, so 3.5 stars all up.
March 8, 2019
Written in the mid 1940s when the author was 14. Born to an American father and a native Cook Islander, Johnny writes of her childhood in the islands. At first things were very idyllic but then TB kills her mother. With her father and siblings she travels the islands, lives on a remote isolated island and survives a hurricane, introduces the reader to her culture and tells of many unusual characters.
Her father was an author and promoted her interest in writing. This is an impressive work from an impressive young lady who was well aware of the dangers of consumerism and greed that comes with the white man's progress. Oh for the good old days.
Her father was an author and promoted her interest in writing. This is an impressive work from an impressive young lady who was well aware of the dangers of consumerism and greed that comes with the white man's progress. Oh for the good old days.
March 27, 2019
This book was an absolute delight. It's the memoir of a young girl growing up on Pukapuka and travelling to various other atols and islands in the Pacific during the 1940's. The story is really amazing: the family travelled a lot as they tried to contact the American army so the father could aid in the war effort. They have set backs () but make it through as a family.
What really sold it to me was was the writing, and particularly the voice of the narrator. While I'm sure her father, in his role as translator, has done some editing as well, the voice in this memoir is unmistakenly Johnny's. And that voice of a happy and excited girl telling you about her world, her family and her adventures made me want to keep on reading.
What really sold it to me was was the writing, and particularly the voice of the narrator. While I'm sure her father, in his role as translator, has done some editing as well, the voice in this memoir is unmistakenly Johnny's. And that voice of a happy and excited girl telling you about her world, her family and her adventures made me want to keep on reading.
August 15, 2018
Written when the author was 13 years-old, Miss Ulysses (the title comes from her wanderings in the South Seas in a manner akin to what she imagined was the fate of Ulysses from her reading of Homer's The Odyssey) is a powerful autobiography. Florence (Johnny) Frisbie, of course, is the daughter of the legendary American South Seas' author, Robert Dean Frisbie (RDF), and his Polynesian wife, Nga. And RDF provided considerable help in translating and polishing this work when it was published. Nevertheless, Johnny's voice is an authentic one, and provides a unique perspective of a time when the South Seas islands were becoming forever changed--the period right before and during World War II. She also continues to provide us with perhaps one of the last living links to that time in which American authors in the South Seas thrived--James Norman Hall, Charles B. Nordhoff, Jack London, and Frederick O'Brien.
Initially, I was most interested in this autobiography for another reason. Having read some of RDF's works about his life in Polynesia, I was intrigued with how his young daughter would describe some of the same events. What perspective would she take? Would she illuminate anything special?
The answer to those questions was an unexpected one. For Johnny most illuninated a side of RDF that I had not seen in his own writings or writings about him by others. Johnny depicts a man desperate to carry out his late wife's last commandment: to keep the family together. This, despite conflicts with Polynesian relatives who wanted to adopt the children, his poverty, and his ongoing weakened health--RDF suffered from tuberculosis.
When RDF describes himself in his writing, he never really lets on about his financial and health fears as much as Johnny does in Miss Ulysses. But he does occasionally question himself about putting his family in physical danger--something hidden from the children until the gravest danger of all manifests itself, the enormous hurricane that nearly kills them all on Savarrow Island. Meanwhile, RDF's close friend, confident, and supporter, James Norman Hall, when he wrote about RDF, every now and then tended to describe him not only as an eccentric but a bit of a ne'er-do-well forever chasing after a dream he was not really matched to meet--becoming a great novelist. There was a touch of the comic attached to RDF. For Johnny, it was much more a touch of the tragic that dwelt within her father.
Johnny Frisbie has lived a long and adventuresome life. Perhaps it is to make up for so many of the tragedies that afflicted her and her family early on. There was the death of her mother, Nga, at a young age and, then, less than ten years later, the death of her father, RDF, when she was 16 years-old. Immediately thereafter, the family was separated, although subsequently mostly reunited. For this edition, there is an epilogue that does not appear in the first edition. In it, the 85 year-old Johnny summarizes the fate of the family and gives insight into her own perseverance, as she looks back over time to the death of her father 70 years ago, now.
Initially, I was most interested in this autobiography for another reason. Having read some of RDF's works about his life in Polynesia, I was intrigued with how his young daughter would describe some of the same events. What perspective would she take? Would she illuminate anything special?
The answer to those questions was an unexpected one. For Johnny most illuninated a side of RDF that I had not seen in his own writings or writings about him by others. Johnny depicts a man desperate to carry out his late wife's last commandment: to keep the family together. This, despite conflicts with Polynesian relatives who wanted to adopt the children, his poverty, and his ongoing weakened health--RDF suffered from tuberculosis.
When RDF describes himself in his writing, he never really lets on about his financial and health fears as much as Johnny does in Miss Ulysses. But he does occasionally question himself about putting his family in physical danger--something hidden from the children until the gravest danger of all manifests itself, the enormous hurricane that nearly kills them all on Savarrow Island. Meanwhile, RDF's close friend, confident, and supporter, James Norman Hall, when he wrote about RDF, every now and then tended to describe him not only as an eccentric but a bit of a ne'er-do-well forever chasing after a dream he was not really matched to meet--becoming a great novelist. There was a touch of the comic attached to RDF. For Johnny, it was much more a touch of the tragic that dwelt within her father.
Johnny Frisbie has lived a long and adventuresome life. Perhaps it is to make up for so many of the tragedies that afflicted her and her family early on. There was the death of her mother, Nga, at a young age and, then, less than ten years later, the death of her father, RDF, when she was 16 years-old. Immediately thereafter, the family was separated, although subsequently mostly reunited. For this edition, there is an epilogue that does not appear in the first edition. In it, the 85 year-old Johnny summarizes the fate of the family and gives insight into her own perseverance, as she looks back over time to the death of her father 70 years ago, now.
March 27, 2018
A very unique first-hand account of a young girl's experience growing up in Puka-Puka, and traveling across the ocean to different places. I feel that in many ways this tale is special because of its interdisciplinary potential: autobiography, travel narrative, children's narrative, journaling, non-fiction, indigenous identity, pacific literature studies, ethnographic research, general nonfiction...this story is able to creep into so many genres. But most importantly to me, this adds an indigenous voice to the canon of literary studies.
There are amazing bits of information about living on Puka-Puka within the text, re-written based on Johnny's journals/diaries she kept as a young girl, that give an accounting I've not found elsewhere. It is a particularly fast-paced book and though chapters are short, they are well-packed with information. The stories come to life as if you were there experiencing them firsthand. One of my favorite sections discusses a hurricane that hits Puka-Puka and details how survivors must rely upon themselves to hunt, fish, gather water, etc., in order to survive. Honestly, I cannot even begin to fathom being so removed from 'society' or being in that kind of a survival situation.
Also: there is now a documentary about Johnny's return to Puka-Puka that I highly recommend you watch if you're interested in natural resources, global warming, atoll living, etc.
Note: If you ever get a chance to hear Ms. Johnny speak, make sure to listen. She's a wonderful speaker who is full of knowledge, passionate, and makes me want to do more within my own community.
There are amazing bits of information about living on Puka-Puka within the text, re-written based on Johnny's journals/diaries she kept as a young girl, that give an accounting I've not found elsewhere. It is a particularly fast-paced book and though chapters are short, they are well-packed with information. The stories come to life as if you were there experiencing them firsthand. One of my favorite sections discusses a hurricane that hits Puka-Puka and details how survivors must rely upon themselves to hunt, fish, gather water, etc., in order to survive. Honestly, I cannot even begin to fathom being so removed from 'society' or being in that kind of a survival situation.
Also: there is now a documentary about Johnny's return to Puka-Puka that I highly recommend you watch if you're interested in natural resources, global warming, atoll living, etc.
Note: If you ever get a chance to hear Ms. Johnny speak, make sure to listen. She's a wonderful speaker who is full of knowledge, passionate, and makes me want to do more within my own community.
July 23, 2018
COUNTRY: COOK ISLANDS
Written when the author was only sixteen years old, this book is a memoir of Johnny Frisbie’s life as a child in the Cook Islands. She recounts what life was like on her home island of Puka Puka and describes her travels to Samoa, Fiji, and other small islands in the South Seas. The book takes places during World War II, so there are several passages in which they encounter American soldiers or take precautions against Japanese bombers. Despite their best intentions to join the war effort, the war ends before the Frisbie family is able to reach a military base.
This book is charming and eye-opening. The author has such an intimate view of the South Pacific and really made me realize how I sort of lump all of the Polynesian islands together. This author points out how they are differentiated from each other and really makes each place feel unique. At one point, she wonders what the islanders eat in Tonga. I immediately thought, “Fish and coconuts, just like everywhere in the South Pacific.” But, to her, as someone who has a deep familiarity with the region, what seem like pretty minor differences to me are what makes the food cultures distinct. It was quite an education in my own ignorance!
The author’s youth works both for and against her. Her enthusiasm and naivete are very appealing, and her simple prose makes the book very easy to read. It is also, apparently, intended for children, and I certainly think it would be a great book for kids to read. At the same time, she skips over some of the most compelling parts of the story rather than describing them in detail. At several points in the narrative, she writes that she could write 30-40 more pages about a certain topic, but she decided not to in order to keep things moving along. Often, these comments would come just as I was getting really interested in what was happening, so I wished for just a bit more time in those areas. I also wished for just a bit more background information. I found myself constantly looking things up on Wikipedia, so perhaps in a subsequent edition, the editors will provide more historical notes to help readers have a better understanding of the context in which the author was writing.
Written when the author was only sixteen years old, this book is a memoir of Johnny Frisbie’s life as a child in the Cook Islands. She recounts what life was like on her home island of Puka Puka and describes her travels to Samoa, Fiji, and other small islands in the South Seas. The book takes places during World War II, so there are several passages in which they encounter American soldiers or take precautions against Japanese bombers. Despite their best intentions to join the war effort, the war ends before the Frisbie family is able to reach a military base.
This book is charming and eye-opening. The author has such an intimate view of the South Pacific and really made me realize how I sort of lump all of the Polynesian islands together. This author points out how they are differentiated from each other and really makes each place feel unique. At one point, she wonders what the islanders eat in Tonga. I immediately thought, “Fish and coconuts, just like everywhere in the South Pacific.” But, to her, as someone who has a deep familiarity with the region, what seem like pretty minor differences to me are what makes the food cultures distinct. It was quite an education in my own ignorance!
The author’s youth works both for and against her. Her enthusiasm and naivete are very appealing, and her simple prose makes the book very easy to read. It is also, apparently, intended for children, and I certainly think it would be a great book for kids to read. At the same time, she skips over some of the most compelling parts of the story rather than describing them in detail. At several points in the narrative, she writes that she could write 30-40 more pages about a certain topic, but she decided not to in order to keep things moving along. Often, these comments would come just as I was getting really interested in what was happening, so I wished for just a bit more time in those areas. I also wished for just a bit more background information. I found myself constantly looking things up on Wikipedia, so perhaps in a subsequent edition, the editors will provide more historical notes to help readers have a better understanding of the context in which the author was writing.
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May 14, 2024ïde wereld hangt van toevalligheden aan elkaar. boudewijn büch die in de ban raakt van een schrijfster van godvergeten klein eilandje, hand legt op een van de weinige kopieën en het naar het Nederlands vertaalt. dit was het enige nederlandse boek wat in de toch wel vrij forse bieb van het onderzeethemahostel stond. en zo vond het z'n weg naar mij!
wat een manier van leven! Johnny en haar broernij, dertien jaar en jonger, leven in gemeenschap op Pukapuka, waar men een knus en door bier gedrenkt bestaan leidt. vervolgens trekken ze door naar onbewoond eiland en leven daar van zelfontgonnen kokosnoten en vis- en vogelvangst. daarna varen ze langs de andere zuidzee-eilanden en vallen van de ene danspartij in de andere.
ontzettend boeiend. hoe. ze van mythes en legendes bestaan. of van lokale dansen. puur gevoed door hoor en wederhoor.
(Puka-Puka; de ontroerende beschrijving van een meisjesjeugd op een eenzaam eiland.)
wat een manier van leven! Johnny en haar broernij, dertien jaar en jonger, leven in gemeenschap op Pukapuka, waar men een knus en door bier gedrenkt bestaan leidt. vervolgens trekken ze door naar onbewoond eiland en leven daar van zelfontgonnen kokosnoten en vis- en vogelvangst. daarna varen ze langs de andere zuidzee-eilanden en vallen van de ene danspartij in de andere.
ontzettend boeiend. hoe. ze van mythes en legendes bestaan. of van lokale dansen. puur gevoed door hoor en wederhoor.
(Puka-Puka; de ontroerende beschrijving van een meisjesjeugd op een eenzaam eiland.)
March 10, 2017
The astounding true adventures of this amazing South Seas girl, her author/trader father, and her Puka-Pukan family should be on every middle school and high school reading list. Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka is a cultural tour de force made all the more remarkable having been penned by a fourteen-year-old girl. Well written and culturally fascinating enough to appeal to all ages with an author "voice" strong enough to impress any discerning reader or writer. Atawai wolo, Johnnie. Thank you for sharing your generous spirit, your precious culture, and your horrifying (I mean exciting) adventures!
October 19, 2021
76📕🇨🇰COOK ISLANDS 🇨🇰 It took me a couple if attempts to get my hands on this book, and I am glad I persisted. This is a unique book in that it is the first written by a Cook Islander - and a woman. Florence was only 12 years old when she wrote her memoirs of her unconventional childhood. The daughter of an American WW1 veteran and author (friend of James A. Michener), who lived on PukaPuka with his young wife snd 5 children. Most likely shellshocked, and probably an alcoholic, Robert Frisbee raised his children on a healthy diet of sun, sand and scavenging. He took Florence and an old Islander on a tour of the Pacific, and many misadventures. Interesting, Florence’s younger sister married Adam West - BATMAN! A most interesting read and wonderful that Florence is still alive! 🌏📚#readingworldtour2021
June 14, 2018
I enjoyed reading this book in learning about Johnny's life growing up in the 1940s in Puka Puka and her travels with her family around the Pacific Islands. What really surprised me was that her father, who was also a writer, encouraged her to publish the book at such a young age making her the first Pacific writer to write an autobiography! Simply beautiful, I would highly recommend this story which is heart warming but also a little sad in realising the consequences of indigenous cultures meeting with Western cultures and trading.
March 11, 2022
Seeing the world through multiple perspectives is incredibly important and valuable to understanding where people come from and where they might be going. Learning about new cultures through first hand experiences usually changes my perspective differently each time.
Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka was a unique experience because it was a souvenir from my Hawaii adventures. It took a little to get into but once she established the impact of Homer's stories upon her own life as a child growing up in the South Seas, the story became more real to me. Definitely worth the read!!
#22bookbubbles #22tbrbgone
Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka was a unique experience because it was a souvenir from my Hawaii adventures. It took a little to get into but once she established the impact of Homer's stories upon her own life as a child growing up in the South Seas, the story became more real to me. Definitely worth the read!!
#22bookbubbles #22tbrbgone
April 22, 2020
I loved this, until the last chapter, which was presumably written much later and was completely different from the rest of the book, both in style and tone. The rest of the book is a delight, a look at a fascinating part of the world I will most likely never have the chance to visit -- but now I really want to!
Want to read
October 24, 2019Spring Byington gave this to Piper Laurie on the set of Laurie's first film titled Louisa.
0125next-reads
January 1, 2025Cook Islands
August 24, 2015
Prachtig! Vrolijk geschreven boek over het leven op een atol. De aard van de mensen op de diverse Cook eilanden, De vele kleine en grote avonturen van de Frisbies en ook het verlies en afscheid van geliefden. Alles wordt treffend beschreven met een positiviteit en humor die me doet glimlachen en wensen dat ik ooit mijzelf ook mag onderdompelen in de Stille Zuidzee.
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