Rating: 
Summary: Great idea that is executed surprisingly poorly
Review: What a tremendous tragedy that such a wonderful opportunity was wasted on a selfish, back-stabbing, childish writer.I was really looking forward to reading this book. In fact, after reading the first chapter, which is essentially a synopsis of the history of the Mutiny on the Bounty, I thought it was shaping up to be one of the finer books of the year. Unfortunately, after finishing it, I was absolutely disgusted with the author's self indulgence and lack of insight. Particularly appalling was her "surprise" that others on the island of 38 knew about her affair with one of the island's married men - this is after she had observed several times that there were no secrets on the tiny island.
Rating: 
Summary: A surprising lack of insight.
Review: What's most remarkable about this book is its complete lack of insight into the minds of the islanders. What did they think of the outside world, viewed only through a VCR? Did they long to travel? What were the thoughts of the isladers who did go elsewhere (some traveled to the US and New Zealand)upon their return? How did they view the future, as their population dwindles? None of these questions are answered, or even brought up. What we're left with are the complaints of the author and some overly harsh portrayals of the islanders (Ms. Birkett recounts her initial meeting with her host, a kindly old woman named Irma Christian, by describing here as "insectile") This book represents a fascinating opportunity wasted.
Rating:
Summary: A total waste of what could have been a fascinating subject.
Review: When I first saw this book on the shelf my thoughts were, "Oh, this has got to be a good one!". My first thought after reading it was that the title was most appropriate. I can only say that I was amazed by her lack of insight into & empathy for the islanders. The fact that she thought she could have an affair with a married man & not get found out shows her naivete & insensitivity toward such a small community. The saddest part of all is that she's probably ruined it for anyone else that may have wanted to spend some time on the island. They'll probably never trust another outsider & I wouldn't blame them.
Rating:
Summary: Infiltration by fraud.
Review: Where does one begin when talking about Pitcairn? The audience I speak to most likely has never set foot there. Do you dream of it perhaps? Maybe you have a notion all your own about this remote sub-tropical paradise in the middle of nowhere. Don't make Pitcairn out in your own likeness. If you do, maybe you will be let down as Ms. Birkett was. Pitcairn can represent an ideal, an abstract thought all your own relative to your day dreams. Pitcarin, however, is a tangible and real place. Humans occupy it, people like you and me. Therefore, the human experience is like it is anywhere whether Bangkok or along the Thames.
I regret buying this book. I did so out of curiousity and the fact that my library didn't carry it. Ms. Birkett took the intimacies she had with the locals and made it into income. Have you ever had an intimate honest conversation with a friend, a visitor, a lover? Now answer this...would you like them to make a book out of it for the publics dissemination?
If you are interested in Pitcairn I guess it might be an interesting read. I read it one afternoon beginning to end. I love Pitcairn, I think I always will. My journey took me three weeks to get there, only a short stop in Mangareva broke the endless blue horizon. I never tried to be a Pitcairner, as I knew I never would be maybe thats why I had such a beautiful time. Ms. Birkett tried to fit in and be one of the locals as she details in her book but to no avail. It's no surprise, Pitcairners are a heardy bunch, unique in themselves and as a group. If you werent born into it, you'll never be one, don't try.
I give this book 2 stars just becuase I am interested in Pitcairn and anything about it and its familiar places. If you are looking for a fair and balanced apprasial of the island don't buy into this. In fact, don't by into what I say....experience it for yourself if you are so lucky. Cheers
Rating:
Summary: Infiltration by fraud.
Review: Where does one begin when talking about Pitcairn? The audience I speak to most likely has never set foot there. Do you dream of it perhaps? Maybe you have a notion all your own about this remote sub-tropical paradise in the middle of nowhere. Don't make Pitcairn out in your own likeness. If you do, maybe you will be let down as Ms. Birkett was. Pitcairn can represent an ideal, an abstract thought all your own relative to your day dreams. Pitcarin, however, is a tangible and real place. Humans occupy it, people like you and me. Therefore, the human experience is like it is anywhere whether Bangkok or along the Thames.
I regret buying this book. I did so out of curiousity and the fact that my library didn't carry it. Ms. Birkett took the intimacies she had with the locals and made it into income. Have you ever had an intimate honest conversation with a friend, a visitor, a lover? Now answer this...would you like them to make a book out of it for the publics dissemination?
If you are interested in Pitcairn I guess it might be an interesting read. I read it one afternoon beginning to end. I love Pitcairn, I think I always will. My journey took me three weeks to get there, only a short stop in Mangareva broke the endless blue horizon. I never tried to be a Pitcairner, as I knew I never would be maybe thats why I had such a beautiful time. Ms. Birkett tried to fit in and be one of the locals as she details in her book but to no avail. It's no surprise, Pitcairners are a heardy bunch, unique in themselves and as a group. If you werent born into it, you'll never be one, don't try.
I give this book 2 stars just becuase I am interested in Pitcairn and anything about it and its familiar places. If you are looking for a fair and balanced apprasial of the island don't buy into this. In fact, don't by into what I say....experience it for yourself if you are so lucky. Cheers
Rating: 
Summary: An unfortunate slight
Review: You have probably already read the other (mostly negative) reviews, so I'll spare you an exhaustive retelling of the plot. I was astonished at the blithe way Dea lies on her application to get on to the island-she seems to relish the idea that she "pulled one over" on the natives and beat them at their own game, when it is exactly people like her that they are trying to filter out. She then spends her time on Pitcairn alternately trying too hard to fit in (thus coming across as smarmy and over-ingratiating), or else trying to recreate her Western, more liberated life through the island's few rebellious members ( and coming across as self-centered and insensitive). Her writing style is excellent-she can carry a story beautifully. What a shame then, that her teenage-level emotional maturity causes the story to fall flat. What could have been a great insight into a slowly decaying, yet rich and colorful, society is instead a nasty, "dear diary" high school tittle-tattle. It makes sense that Dea earns her living writing for women's magazines-the dirt she dishes reads just like a Cosmo Hollywood gossip column; except the Pitcairners have absolutely no recourse to Dea's book-some of them can't even read. Dea did want to become a Pitcairner-on her terms only. When the rules became too strict for her tastes (No drinking?! No bacon?! No sex with married men?!) she simply flaunts them, hoping that her "specialness" would win the islanders over. I think the author hoped that the islanders would come across as backwards, strange, and hopelessly out of it, yet I found myself developing an affection for them-especially the ones she most disliked such as tough-old-broad Royal and the sweet misguided Dennis and his doting worrisome mother. Too bad Dea is one in a long line of screwy women who come to Pitcairn hoping to recreate themselves as goddesses of paradise and instead infest the land with their own bitter unrealized dreams.
Rating:
Summary: An unfortunate slight
Review: You have probably already read the other (mostly negative) reviews, so I'll spare you an exhaustive retelling of the plot. I was astonished at the blithe way Dea lies on her application to get on to the island-she seems to relish the idea that she "pulled one over" on the natives and beat them at their own game, when it is exactly people like her that they are trying to filter out. She then spends her time on Pitcairn alternately trying too hard to fit in (thus coming across as smarmy and over-ingratiating), or else trying to recreate her Western, more liberated life through the island's few rebellious members ( and coming across as self-centered and insensitive). Her writing style is excellent-she can carry a story beautifully. What a shame then, that her teenage-level emotional maturity causes the story to fall flat. What could have been a great insight into a slowly decaying, yet rich and colorful, society is instead a nasty, "dear diary" high school tittle-tattle. It makes sense that Dea earns her living writing for women's magazines-the dirt she dishes reads just like a Cosmo Hollywood gossip column; except the Pitcairners have absolutely no recourse to Dea's book-some of them can't even read. Dea did want to become a Pitcairner-on her terms only. When the rules became too strict for her tastes (No drinking?! No bacon?! No sex with married men?!) she simply flaunts them, hoping that her "specialness" would win the islanders over. I think the author hoped that the islanders would come across as backwards, strange, and hopelessly out of it, yet I found myself developing an affection for them-especially the ones she most disliked such as tough-old-broad Royal and the sweet misguided Dennis and his doting worrisome mother. Too bad Dea is one in a long line of screwy women who come to Pitcairn hoping to recreate themselves as goddesses of paradise and instead infest the land with their own bitter unrealized dreams.
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