Liz Prato

The book is Volcanos, Palm Trees and Privilege: Essays on Hawaii
This is one of those books you read and wonder “how the hell did this get published “. Sure she can write and in a number of places the book is funny, especially when she is detailing the pure hell of staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, but nothing binds these stories together except the location, and unfortunately she feels the need to get on her high horse and beat the reader over the head about the evils of tourism, the White Man, capitalism, etc.
The author originally from Colorado but now married and living in Portland Oregon, began visiting Hawaii as a teenager and has loved visiting ever since.
Great, but this does not make you an expert on Hawaii. Which becomes painfully apparent the further you read into the book. She seems incapable of getting out of her own way, and is completely oblivious to reality, it also goes without saying that she is insanely liberal, which isn’t a problem ordinary, but she throws in stupid comments like Bush rushed financial assistance to Hawaii after the hurricane in 1992 but didn’t visit the island apparently the Bush’s don’t handle hurricanes well. Her problem is she doesn’t understand that doing some research and visiting a place doesn’t make you an expert. I have been to Hawaii as many times as she has, and I am not an expert, I also don’t lecture people about how the white man screwed the Hawaiians over ever way imaginable, its true they did and there is an awful lot of guilt to be spread around, but it is not going back to the way it was in the 1600’s. I found it especially laughable considering the reason she and her family first traveled there was because Dad ended up developing an entire subdivision on Maui. Nothing says I care about the people and their land like building a 1000 houses to drain the limited resources of an island.
But she prattles on about the land and the people and their devotion to nature and ohana, and aina and blah blah blah all the while never actually living there and living this way. Hell she doesn’t even seem capable of booking hotels on the various islands that will match her desires and beliefs of her place in this great big world, while at the same time staying on tiny islands in the largest body of water on earth.
There are so many excellent books written by people who actually know what they write about, have lived it, are a part of it and understand it, that it is a travesty that this book is considered anything but white girl whining.
She even does that most annoying thing liberals do which is applying today’s beliefs to life 40 years ago
Specifically the episodes of The Brady Bunch in Hawaii. Sorry sweetly it wasn’t sexist, xenophobic, or any other 21st century catchphrase taking place on the show, it was a TV show.… (altro)

The author takes a dim view of all of the development in Hawai'i and believes that it has done very little to help out the people who actually live in Hawai'i. She delves into the past colonialistic history of the take-over of Hawai'i and how that attitude of white privilege manifests itself today in low wages for the people who actually work in paradise. She is an advocate for higher wages and curbing tourism for many of the same reasons why Yosemite has had to curb visits to that park. Tourists are doing severe damage to the environment, wildlife, and to the native peoples who live there and restrictions should be put in place. This is not a screed. It is a statement of how total dependence on tourism is ruining the Hawaiian environment in a devastating physical and cultural manner.… (altro)

Wow! This book contains very powerful and thought-provoking essays—each one examining a different serious facet of the age of the Generation Xers. As changes were happening throughout the years, not each of us were equally aware or as immersed in what was happening so I think it personally did me good to have this opportunity to read in depth about these changes.

The essay about Native Americans was gruesome and sad. The essay about date rape was truly something over which to become enraged. The essay about the author Liz’s black friend Alicia whose single mom died while she was in high school had me in tears. The letter to Frederic Lyman, teacher who for years was sexually assaulting his students but never really held accountable, was an exposure of an outrageous situation.

The essay “Change in Altitude” was the story of the author Liz and friends during a break from school and the end of her relationship with her boyfriend Leon. I liked hearing about what eventually happened to her friends later in their lives.

As a hard of hearing Baby Boomer, I never watched Beverly Hill 90210 but I enjoyed and laughed through this author’s description of the TV series and how thoroughly she tore it apart because of what it was and what it was not. Glad I missed the whole thing.

This is a very sharply-written book with so much to talk about in it. I kept having to stop reading (while I was devouring it very quickly) so I could talk to others about its contents. I’ve frequently thought about how hard it would have been for me, shy as a child, to have been born a Generation Xer as opposed to the Baby Boomer I am. I guess all ages have their advantages and disadvantages, but this book helped me understand the Generation Xers in a way that I wouldn’t be able to do in a casual conversation with them. It dealt with some hard issues that I’m not sure l'd feel comfortable discussing with young people I know.

Liz Prato is an excellent writer. In this book, she does incredibly sharp and beautiful essays about tough subjects.

I found the essay “Flights of Two” very different in tone from all other essays in this book. However just one line made me laugh out loud and love it. The line was...”The word of Robert’s disqualification spread quickly, whispered about in the bleachers and in the bathrooms and by the potato salad.”

I found the last essay the most powerful one in the book. It gave me chills as I started to read it and left me in tears. Rather than tell you what it’s about, I’ll tell you it’s title: “Falling Off Radar”. Now you go read it. Read the whole book, but leave this story for last, though.… (altro)