Frankly, it was difficult to get the images of John Ford's 1937 film version of The Hurricane out of my head as I read this. I only recently tracked down a copy of the book. And, as with most other Nordhoff and Hall works, The Hurricane proved a deceptively intricate reading. Both Ford's film and the book are anti-colonialist in their intent. But Ford is much more harsh towards the French, as represented by the governor, DeLaage, than is Nordhoff and Hall. Still, both works take aim at a system of "white man's justice" that is, in fact, unjust.

Told from the perspective of Dr. Kersaint, the book and film tell their story as a flashback. Kersaint himself is intriguing. Isolated from his own kind, he has become jaded with European attitudes towards Polynesians. His is a lethargy of soul and spirit, because of what he has seen. Especially soul rending is the fate of Terangi, the Polynesian sailor, who is put through the remorseless grind of the French legal system. Terangi's life with his family and his ultimate test of courage and moral certitude comes with the climax of the book, the awaited hurricane that strikes his island. Only a lucky core of islanders survive. And at book's end, all characters, French and Polynesian alike, seek redemption from the harshness of nature, both in man and in the sea. ( )

This was a very exciting story! The setting is in Polynesia, the descriptions help make it interesting. This is a romance, the groom being sent to jail shortly after the marriage, the short sentence keeps getting longer because of his propensity to break out of jail! ( )

Intense. Riveting story of a hurricane on a small island. A lesser known work by the authors of "Mutiny on the Bounty". ( )