The Descendants

I expected this book to be sappy, instead it was touching and funny with hardly a drop of sap. The characters are excellently developed, especially considering the novel is completely first person narrative. I came to know even the minor characters. This was a beautiful story of a family in decent, due to stress & sorrow, accident & adolescence, isolation & infidelity, betrayal & banality. Yet instead of ripping things apart, these pressures slowly catalyze new strengths and bonds. This novel is simple and honest. Occasionally I found myself tearing up, only to smile or laugh at the next sentence. There was very little wrong with this novel. Now, I will certainly see the movie (but I would recommend doing the book first). The protagonist seems perfectly written for Clooney. Although the narration was excellent, I sometimes wished Clooney had narrated.

I came to this novel through watching a trailer for the movie by the same name. We'll have to wait a bit for the movie, but in the meantime, content yourself with this read. As mentioned in the book blurbs, the movie features George Clooney, and after watching some of the scenes unfold, when reading the book, his persona infuses every scene. To the complete advantage of the entire story, I will add.

This novel has that perfectly dissonant blend of humor and grace, of sarcasm and solemnity, and brilliantly handles all those "OMG what do I do now?" moments with unbelievable delicacy and with a moment-by-moment way of working things out. The added base note and a solid character in its own right is the lush ecosystem of the Hawaiian islands and their culture, and the main character's historical and emotional connection to that environment, where his family has lived and prospered for centuries. Not just another family drama in paradise! Read this one, you won't be sorry. And I think you'll enjoy the movie all the more.

The Descendants teaches a number of small lessons wrapped into a bigger story. A true testament of how many working dads are unaware of the disconnection they have with their children, and the road back. How along that road, there are little bumps and great big bumps. However, each bump brings this father, back to being a dad.

Knowing you have a spouse whose heath deteriorates to a place where there is no turning back, is much different than losing a spouse suddenly. Knowing this, Alex and Scotty begin finding their father as they lose their mother.

Although, the story is that of a broken love and love that is lost to death, The Descendants goes deeper than only one subject. Within this tale you will find parenting, relationships, Hawaiian history, fun, and truth. It is a well written, well read novel that allows you the feeling of being there, helping the characters and learning along the way.

I greatly enjoyed all of the family dynamics, but I really liked the portions of the book with adolescent Scottie and her father, Matt. I felt author Hemmings really captured the painful change from innocent childhood and super-sexualized teen years, and what a struggle it is for fathers to suddenly see their young girls become budding young women.

Jonathan Davis was a smart, wry narrator -- it made perfect sense that the character he voiced (the protagonist, Matt King) would be played by George Clooney in the film adaptation. This was the first audiobook voiced by Jonathan Davis that I've heard.

Heartbroken in Hawaii -- cheesy, right? But that pretty much sums it up.

Death, cheating and love. What happens when a family has to deal with their personal world falling down, while the world moves forward.
Good book, I see why they made it into a movie. Sorry guys, no blood, gore, or gratuitous sex. This book just deals with a man trying to do the best he can, as he has to deal with emotions, and sometimes that is painful.

great story about love.

learn to pronounce hawaiian words correctly, as a kamaaina would.

they couldn't even pronounce the author's name correctly.

I really enjoyed this book. The fact that I live in Hawaii probably played a role in why it was so fascinating to me. I haven't seen the movie yet but now it is definitely on my to-watch list. But back to the book...I thought the characters were well developed and likable. The emotions and scenarios described throughout the story were very real and at times I laughed and teared up. While there were a few jarring mispronounciations of Hawaiian words, in general the narrator handled the words a lot better than I expected him to (based on some of the reviews I read before listening). Overall, despite those few mispronounciations, I thought the narrator did a fantastic job. He was the perfect choice for Mr. King! I definitely recommend this book.

No once was enough for this one.

The confrontation with the "other man".

Great listen.

waiting for my wife to die

Well compare to the other books I have listen to this ranks right up there at the top. It matched up to the same flow as when I watched the movie. The mood of each character was brought to life and everyone once in awhile brought a smile to my face.

He really did a great flow of reading the book. I could actually hear the voice of George Clooney as he read his lines! Kudos I look forward to here other books that he has narrated.

I have not seen the movie yet but I loved the book. The story was interesting, the narrator was great and I enjoyed the whole thing. I listened to it twice.