Forgotten Writers - James Michener

Here and there, from time to time, I am going to write about a few authors that  are now, undeservedly, forgotten. One of these is the great James Michener. Michener was never considered a great writer by those who proclaimed themselves experts on fine literature but, who cares. He was the author of many fine novels that, in their day, sold in huge numbers.

Early on, he wrote The Bridges At Toko-Ri, an excellent war story that was also made into a pretty good movie. War stories are generally not my favorite but he did a good job with it. Then, he hit on a formula that proved popular.

Michener's other novels always followed the same pattern. He chose a location, began at the dawn of time, the forming of the land, then traced the development of life in the region, the coming of early man, and then, focused on one family and traced it through the centuries. This was his formula and it worked. He gave you a chance to see the land and its peoples through a long lens, giving you a chance to see the interplay of land and people. This gave the reader a way to understand why things turned out as they did.

The characters are all realistically drawn, some great and famous, some obscure and average, all presented as a blend of good and bad. Ambitions, love, loyalty and treachery motivate them and you can see that we all are the sum of the past actions of our ancestors. He also does a fine job when  he presents the pre-human days, making sure you get an understanding of the simple fact that animals, just like humans, are aware beings and that, like us, they are trying to succeed, leave offspring and figure out, as best they can, this strange wonderful universe we inhabit.

Some of the areas he tackles are Hawaii, Iberia, the Chesapeake region, Israel (in The Source), and the Rocky Mountains (in Centennial). Michener is an entertaining writer, the books are full of action and adventure. They are sort of history lessons taught by the most entertaining teacher ever. I will say  that all of the books are long but, you can cut in  and out of them at your leisure without  losing the flow of the story.

James Michener is a case of an author somewhat scorned by academics, loved by readers, and now, pretty much forgotten. Try some of his epic stories and you will understand why I think it regrettable that he is now overlooked.