I actually picked this up as until now I haven't read a book from a Fijian author. I wanted to rectify that, so I picked up this tome. And in the process, I also learned about the Fijian coups of 1987. I have to admit, I know next to nothing about Fiji, so reading this book gave me a glimpse of this interesting country in the South Pacific.
Kava in the Blood is a non-fiction political memoir. It's an account of the 1987 military coups in Fiji, interwoven with the author's personal memories of growing up there. This contrasts sharply with my general preference for fiction, especially psychological novels. But at the same time, I found many snippets of it rather educational, filling in the blanks in my head about this country that until now is unknown to me.
While it has a personal element, the book's primary focus is on political events and history. I grew up in countries where Fiji wasn't really a major element, so I haven't learned anything about Fijian history. I didn't even know there were two coups in 1987. I was just 5 that time, and so I didn't have the consciousness required to understand such political world events. Not to mention that where I was, Fiji was so far away to even matter. So reading this book actually provided some missing information, and I am glad to have learned something new when I read this book.
Another thing that I actually liked was the fact that there were plenty of personal elements in the book. It was not just narrating how the author experienced the two coups of 1987, but rather it was also providing the readers some extra background on life in Fiji in general. This was also very interesting for me to read, as again, I don't know much about this far-flung country.
Overall, I thought this was a very educational book. Maybe I would even go to Fiji one day. Although I have to say, it is very distant from where I am. In any case, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
See my other book reviews here.
