Unfamiliar Fishes

By: Sarah Vowell

Narrated by: Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, John Hodgman, Catherine Keener, Edward Norton, Keanu Reeves, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, John Slattery, Sarah Vowell

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Many think of 1776 as the most defining year of American history, the year we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self-government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as crucial to our nation's identity, a year when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded Cuba and then the Philippines, becoming a meddling, self-serving, militaristic international superpower practically overnight.

Of all the countries the United States invaded or colonized in 1898, Vowell considers the story of the Americanization of Hawaii to be the most intriguing. From the arrival of the New England missionaries in 1820, who came to Christianize the local heathen, to the coup d'état led by the missionaries' sons in 1893, overthrowing the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, if often appalling or tragic, characters. Whalers who will fire cannons at the Bible-thumpers denying them their god-given right to whores. An incestuous princess pulled between her new god and her brother-husband. Sugar barons, con men, Theodore Roosevelt, and the last Hawaiian queen, a songwriter whose sentimental ode "Aloha 'Oe" serenaded the first Hawaii-born president of the United States during his 2009 inaugural parade.

With Vowell's trademark wry insights and reporting, she sets out to discover the odd, emblematic, and exceptional history of the 50th state. In examining the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn, she finds America again, warts and all.

Read by the author a cast that includes Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, John Hodgman, Catherine Keener, Edward Norton, Keanu Reeves, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, and John Slattery. Music by Michael Giacchino with Grant Lee-Phillips. The score contains excerpts from "Hawai'i Pono'i" (words by David Kalakaua and music by Henri Berger) performed by Grant-Lee Phillips.

©2011 Sarah Vowell (P)2011 Simon and Schuster

Critic reviews

"Vowell makes an excellent travelling companion, what with her rare combination of erudition and cheek." ( The New York Times Book Review)

Perfect introduction to Hawaii

I loved her reading, insight is terrific. This is a must for all Americans. Makes history thoughtful and entertaining.

great pacing and fascinating bit of history

some American history I had never learned about presented in a fairly objective way. the reading was okay but the subject itself more than enough to sustain the 8 hour experience.

reads like fiction

Fascinating history about Hawaii and manifest destiny. It took a little getting used to the author's voice.

Pretty Great

An excellent history of Hawaii by Ms. Vowell and a star ensemble of voice talent.

fascinating history of Hawaii

this is an amazing history of Hawaii, the transition from an independent Polynesian culture into part of the United States. many sad stories here about this transition

Irritating Narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Make it more factual

If you’ve listened to books by Sarah Vowell before, how does this one compare?

n/a

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

Someone with a less annoying voice

Was Unfamiliar Fishes worth the listening time?

Not really

Any additional comments?

I felt that the author cherry-picked some of the facts and didn't go into enough depth on many of them. Her sarcastic "white-bashing" got very irritating at times.

Funny and informative, as per usual from Vowell

Wow. That's quite a list of narrators! Sarah has done this in her other books as well. The guest narrators don't do extensive pieces, but they each take on a few of the "characters" and read their direct quotes. I will admit, knowing the list was extensive, with fun people I like, I did spend some time thinking "Is this Bill Hader? Who was that?" I think John Slattery had the most distinctive and easy-to-pick-out voice. I like this technique, although it might sound distracting, as sometimes knowing when something is a quote and isn't on an audio, can be difficult as people don't say "quote... close quote" when reading quotations. There's often an opening such as "Theodore Roosevelt then said..." but there's seldom any way to figure out when a quote ends. I also like it, as it's an add-on for us audiobook listeners, who often get shafted and don't get to see funny drawings (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night), or photo inserts (any serious biography) unless the book is the very awesome Bossypants.

Anyway, on to Unfamiliar Fishes. Sarah Vowell is an unconventional historian, probably most similar to Tony Horwitz. She doesn't at all try to remove herself from the story (although it isn't a memoir per se). She talks about her sister and her nephew joining her on her research trips to Hawaii and relates what she learns to herself personally. Most notably in her comparison of the treatment of the Hawaiian native to the Native Americans, as she is part Cherokee, which is an apt comparison. She's funny, a little kooky, loves a random bit of trivia (my favorite!), and tries to both understand the thinking of the people back then and also from our modern-day perspective.

Favorite trivia: Morse, inventor of the telegraph and Morse code, was a painter. Not like he painted on the side or it was a hobby, that was his regular job, day-in and day-out, and he was respected and paid well. But while he was painting some semi-famous guy in New York, his wife became deathly ill back in Connecticut. By the time he found out and was able to race home, she had already died. He invented the telegraph out of frustration with the poor communication of the times. I had always thought he was one of those inventor-guys like Edison and Franklin who probably invented a bunch of other things, but nope.

I know some people find Ms. Vowell's voice abrasive or grating, but I find it very endearing. To me she sounds a lot like a little kid. But several hours of it would be a bit much if it was grating to you, so I recommend her books on audio with the caveat that you should check out her voice first with a quick This American Life story or a Daily Show clip. But if you like her, this book won't disappoint. And I promise, you'll learn some unusual history not covered in class. Aloha.

Wonderful "read".

Would you listen to Unfamiliar Fishes again? Why?

I love anything Sarah Vowell touches, but I found the "guest appearance" of the famous very distracting, I preferred if Sarah read it entirely.

Sarahs great as the goth girl on the incredibles.

I appreciate the amount of research sarah does on everything. she is a great writer. I guess Hawaii dosnt do it for me? well worth the history and sarahs take on it.

Terrific Book

Being born and raised in Hawai'i, I do agree that the narrator could have been a bit better, both in pronunciation and tone. However, the story is compelling, and very well researched. Hearing the bits and pieces that I learned in my Hawaiian Studies class in high school put into a very clear and complete structure was great. The writing style felt very personal, and it was nice hearing the stories of old Hawai'i together with the new as well as her own experiences. At the end of the book I got "chicken skin" or goose bumps as she talked about modern day Hawai'i. Very well written and highly recommended.