Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook353 pages8 hours
A Pattern of Islands
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Arthur Grimble was sent to the Gilbert and Ellice islands as a colonial administrator in the twilight of the Edwardian era. He lived there for the next twenty-five years and developed a rare passion for the language, life and landscape of the place. Fortunately his island neighbours, a fascinating cast of fishermen, sorcerers, poets and fighters, began to trust this charming, happy and energetic young man, and shared with him their treasury of stories from the days when warfare was endemic and magic an essential part of everyday life. A Pattern of Islands is a rich and complex cultural history of the dances and legends, rituals, spells and way of life of the islands. It is also a riproaring adventure story. Grimble learns to spear hungry sharks, to negotiate fearsome reefs and, on one terrifying day, is used as human bait to catch a giant squid.
Unavailable
Related to A Pattern of Islands
Related ebooks
A Traveller’s Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road to Innamincka Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Aconcagua and the Southern Andes: Horcones Valley (Normal) and Vacas Valley (Polish Glacier) ascent routes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cook Islands: Rarotonga, Aitutaki & Beyond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Human Shore: Seacoasts in History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Thing of Beauty: Travels in Mythical and Modern Greece Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Brussels: Not Your Ordinary City Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Saviour Fish: Life and Death on Africa's Greatest Lake Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Journey Without Maps Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Road to Oxiana: New Edition Linked and Annotaded Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Buccaneer King: The Story of Captain Henry Morgan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFigures In A Landscape: People and Places Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Departures and Arrivals Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sydney Beaches: A History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife and Death in the Andes: On the Trail of Bandits, Heroes, and Revolutionaries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pacific Exploration: Voyages of Discovery from Captain Cook's Endeavour to the Beagle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Notorious Captain Hayes: The Remarkable True Story of The Pirate of The Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe on Rivers and Lakes of Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Film + Travel Asia, Oceania, Africa: Traveling the World Through Your Favorite Movies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Running Dry: A Journey From Source to Sea Down the Dying Colorado River Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWinter in Fireland: A Patagonian Sailing Adventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCloud Road: A Journey through the Inca Heartland Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lonely Planet Denmark Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rascal Rain A Year in Papua New Guinea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wonders of Pompeii Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWalks near Edinburgh Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmazing Diving Stories: Incredible Tales from Deep Beneath the Sea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Essays & Travelogues For You
A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miami Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Songlines Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Neither here nor there: Travels in Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lonely Planet An Innocent Abroad: Life-Changing Trips from 35 Great Writers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eye of the Elephant: An Epic Adventure in the African Wilderness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Notes from a Small Island Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Man's Wilderness, 50th Anniversary Edition: An Alaskan Odyssey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Innocents Abroad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vagabonding on a Budget: The New Art of World Travel and True Freedom: Live on Your Own Terms Without Being Rich Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fucked at Birth: Recalibrating the American Dream for the 2020s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paris Letters: A Travel Memoir about Art, Writing, and Finding Love in Paris Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia – Special Anniversary Edition (with new chapter 25 years on) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Philosophy of Walking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best American Travel Writing 2016 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for A Pattern of Islands
Rating: 4.03846168974359 out of 5 stars
4/5
39 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Read 2011. Delightful account of life in the colonial administration, in the Pacific, in the early part of the 20C.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arthur Grimble was fresh out of Oxford and was interviewed by the colonial office for a post overseas. He got the job and was despatched to the other side of the world to work on the Gilbert Islands in the pacific. This was the time of colonialism and he was starting there as a cadet officer. Coming from the UK this was a form of paradise and it was going to be a place that he was to fall in love with over the next three decades.
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.