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)

Smart Exposition Marred by Narration

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

For those familiar with, and accepting of, Vowell's voice, the book will be time well spent. However, the idiosyncratic tone can be grating. What I've seen called deadpan irony comes across as self-congratulatory cleverness that would have been muted if the editor used a more professional voice. Too many of her sentences seem to end with an implied rim shot. Moreover, the book's use of celebrity narrators was distracting, though it is a remarkable cast for a mediocre book.By the middle, I lost interest in the narrative itself, with fault to be ascribed equally between the voice, the writing, the subject and my own attention span. I have listened to Vowell's Assasination Vacation, which was more enjoyable, probably because the work covered more familiar and varied ground.

A History of Hawaii

This book is a history of Hawaii. There is really not much about Puerto Rico, Cuba, or the Philippines, which I found disappointing. The synopsis of the book implied that there would be more about the other countries.

Good story, reader - not so good

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Get a different reader

Would you be willing to try another book from Sarah Vowell? Why or why not?

Only if she found another person to read it

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?

NO

Did Unfamiliar Fishes inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

This is a tragic case of a good book that the author reads and should not. There are several excellent writers that do not have the right voice to read the books (Stephen King is a good example). PLEASE, just because you know the material, get someone else to read it who has a better voice. Sorry author....

Another Great Book from Sarah Vowell

I love reading Sarah Vowell books as she is so funny (in a dry, sardonic way) and I always learn things that were never discussed in any of my history classes. While I am really intrigued with learning more about my country's history, so many history-themed books are dry and boring. Sure, I learn things but it is difficult to pay attention when I am reading or listening to a bunch of facts that seem to have no relevence to the present day. Sarah Vowell inserts humorous metaphors and asides to make these "facts" resonate a bit more.

This was not my favorite of her books, but there were some very interesting parts and I learned quite a bit, as usual. Kind of sad to find that once again, the U.S. saw a piece of land and set out to steal it using "manifest destiny" as an excuse to trick the indigenous people into giving away their land for very little or no money based upon promises that would never come to be. If you have never read Sarah Vowell, I definitely recommend reading any of her books.

Sound pretty smart on your next Hawaiin vacation

Where does Unfamiliar Fishes rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of my favorites, smart, funny, engaging. I love Sarah Vowell on This American Life so her reading of her book was extra great, with losts of special guests.

What did you like best about this story?

This humor and the history, and it's relevance right now in history.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her quirky sense of delivery. She can deliver her stories the way she writes them, with quick wit and charm. * some people find her voice grating after a while, I can agree to a certain extent, but I love her delivery that I can't imagine anyone else reading it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The historical accuracy made me feel smart and funny at the same time. I wish my textbooks in History were all written by her.

Any additional comments?

Buy it, listen, be smarter.

I wish I had read it before I went to Hawaii

I love all of Sarah Vowell’s books, but this one is especially worth reading since it covers a history with which most Americans are not at all familiar.

wonderful true story of Hawaii

wonderful true story of Hawaii read by perhaps one of the greatest historical satire writers of our time.

Wow...

Look at Hawaii quite the same again. For a plethora reasons. Thank you Sarah for writing this book.

Insightful, laugh out loud funny!

Your book had me laughing out loud, tears streaming down my face, breathless with wonder. You made Hawaii, its history, and its people come to life. I live here in Hawaii. I went to the University of Hawaii and majored in Hawaiian history, Hawaiian culture, and the Hawaiian language. Your book was so deeply researched and so insightful that I learned a lot from it. The production value of your audiobook is truly wonderful, as is your epic mangling of the pronunciation of Hawaiian words and names (I get it, you’re letting us know that you’re a Ha’ole, not a Native Hawaiian, but it was often painful to hear and I really did wince, but I took it as part of your delightful humor). I was so sad when your book ended. This is without question, one of my favorite books ever. You really delivered. WOW!

Sarah Vowell does it again!

Sarah Vowell's never fails to make me fall in love with her all over again!

Unfamiliar Fishes is the story of the Americanization of Hawaii, and Vowell uses her storytelling - complete with historical facts, stories and personal anecdotes of her travels - to make the tale interesting and memorable. I can't imagine hearing this story read by anyone other than the author - her unique voice, along with the interjections from other celebs, makes a great book a truly spectacular listen.