It’s hard to rate books of folklore; it seems odd to judge another culture’s traditional stories on my standards for literature or entertainment. But I can only rate from my own perspective, which is affected by factors out of the author’s control. One, I’ve read several books of folklore lately, and may have begun to tire of it a bit; I can say this is neither the best nor the worst such book I’ve recently encountered. Perhaps I imbibed too many somewhat similar, very short stories in too little time, and my interest has waned. Two, I had this through Interlibrary Loan on a tight schedule, which left me feeling obligated to pick it up at times I would otherwise have chosen something else.

That said, this is a perfectly readable collection of folklore that made sense to me as a foreign reader. Which makes sense, because the stories were told to a foreign (Hawai’i-based) author/dramaturge who collected them. The book is sized to fit in with textbooks, and has ultra-wide margins in which definitions and pronunciations are sometimes included. But with large font and illustrations, it is still a quick read. It includes brief biographical sketches (and sometimes photographs) of the storytellers, but to me these were too brief: the barest of bare-bones, without room to for the storytellers’ personalities or life experiences to come alive. 

Overall, there’s nothing here that would make me hesitate to recommend the book to those who enjoy folklore. But I prefer books from which I can learn more directly about what people’s lives are like.

Marshall Islands.This is a surprisingly enjoyable and fascinating compendium centered on medicinal plants (though pumice and a couple of animal bits make brief cameos). The main portion of the book presents the plants with a color photo, genus and species, local name, and medicinal uses as described by one to several local practitioners. Other sections provide some focused history and explain how the data were collected. It's interesting to try to determine the mechanism of action of each specimen and preparation. Some can clearly be understood biochemically, some are symbolic, and some seem obscure and driven by the system of taboo rather than what westerners would think of as empirical outcomes. For the right reader, an engrossing volume published, like many, at ISP Publications at University of the South Pacific.