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Loading... A Pattern of Islands (1952)by Arthur Grimble
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. The wonderfully written story of Grimble's time as a district officer in the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) in the south Pacific. I first read this as a nine-year-old boy and was enchanted. It is an extraordinary book, by an extraordinarily sensitive and humane man. This is a wonderfully well-told tale. It deserves to be read. no reviews | add a review
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The funny, charming, and self-deprecating adventure story of a young man in the Pacific. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)919.681History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography of and travel in Australasia, Pacific Ocean islands, Atlantic Ocean islands, Arctic islands, Antarctica and on extraterrestrial worlds Polynesia Marshall Islands and KiribatiLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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You probably think, Grimble, that you’re here to teach these people our code of manners, not to learn theirs. You’re making a big mistake.
He was given the piece of advice above and he took it completely to heart. He was fascinated by the islanders, their history and just how they managed to eke a living in the middle of the vast ocean. Not only did they survive by developing unique ways of catching food from the ocean but they also developed a sophisticated pagan culture that was full of legends, folklore, rituals and spells. It was a way of life that was vanishing as the Catholic and Protestant religion was being draped over the culture. But if you knew where to look you could still see their earlier pagan culture shining through and as the people began to trust him they began to share their stories.
I really liked this, he is an eloquent author and a sensitive observer of the culture of these islands. He is prepared to get involved in the activities too, learning to catch octopus seeing men face tiger sharks with only a spear and witnessing the initiation rituals of the clans. I think if he hadn’t have taken that small piece of advice then this would have been a much poorer book. A great read of a part of the world that I have never heard of. ( )