Short-Timers in Paradise

Short Timers in Paradise is a quality collection of original short stories, interesting nonfiction and unique drama from John Wythe White, all set in the wondrous Hawaiian Islands. All the protagonists focused on during the disparate plots are foreigners—mostly from the United States’ mainland—struggling to adjust to the beautiful, but different, island lifestyle. The book is aimed at intermediate to advanced readers with a love of the ocean and an appreciation for Hawaii itself, nature and humankind, incorporating grand language and themes into the lush backdrop.

White’s words are meticulously placed, and despite Short Timers in Paradise’s stylistic variance, the concepts seem pleasantly familiar. Each tale, with the exception of two, is considered separate from the rest—as a collection, though, it includes the gamut of good writing techniques, clever personification and emotional states from pity to rage to dream-like elation—but the book as a whole is perfectly filled.

“Unstill Life With Mangos” is the narrative of a woman’s mysterious relationship with the local environment, thick with irony and beautiful verbiage. “‘Aumakua” introduces some mystical lore of islands yore into one man’s psychological struggle. Tight familial bonds drive “Short Timers,” and “Surf Cities” poses an eerily possible surfing scenario for the future. “Welcome to the Generic Islands” is a hilarious social satire set 2017, with a complex structure to match. John Wythe White cries for the halt of Hawaii’s population boom in “PR Meets Shama Thrush,” and “First Star Off” takes a moment to remember lost loves. “Christmas in Ke’e” tells of a homesick child’s first holiday season in The Islands, while “How I Lost My Job” and “The Weezers and the Sibs” explore two characters existing within Hawaii’s realities of print and photographic media.



Part two, essays, starts with a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story of a stranded, 18th century British colonist and sailor turned royal confidant to the great King Kamehameha, governor of Hawaii and central figure in Hawaiian history in “The Second Life of John Young.” In “Confessions of an Aging Surfer,” White explains the ups and downs faced during the life of a veteran waterman. With “Diamonds in the Rough,” glorious descriptions of the waves, natural wonders and advantages at Diamond Head make the place sound like heaven on earth; while “Forget What I Said” is a retraction of the previous invitation, as overcrowding has now turned the area into an uninhabitable tourist Mecca.

Lastly, an original, 20-scene play—put on by the players of Kumu Kahua Theatre in 1990—entitled “Biff Finds Himself in Hawaii,” moves its plot from Brooklyn, NY across the Pacific Ocean and back again with the curious story of the Loman family.

Short Timers in Paradise is one the few, well written collections of surf-related stories available today—and it’s quite an enjoyable read.