it’s a shame because these are such interesting stories but they’re told in a way that is so incredibly boring and overwhelmingly pedantic

I first want to start off by saying, that this review is catagorically not of the Polynesian myths themselves- which I find to be some of the most compelling and fascinating of any mythology. Unfortunately this negative review is solely of this particular book. I had such high hopes going in, as these myths are particular favourites of mine, and do not get enough attention or recognition alongside more 'popular' mythologies. The fact this collection focused on more than just Hawaiian island mythos, was also a huge draw- as these again, are stories often under explored by western culture. The problem, however was that this book, does not tell the myths as stories. Instead it opts for telling them as dry and difficult to follow academic essays. This is not helped by the small writing and list like, matter of fact way in which these are spelled out. This reads more like a university textbook, than a collections of myths- which is just so unfortunate. I think unless you are studying these myths and their origins at a high level of academia- this book will probably go over your head a little. I honestly had a headache after just a few pages, which is such an unbelievable shame. I'd say if you are interested in these myths, but dont want to feel as though you are reading a very long Wikipedia entry, that you try and track down another collection. This took me a very long time finish for such a short book.