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The Navigator is a novel written by Morris West. Released in 1976, it tells of a voyage to a mythical island.
Characters[]
- Gunnar Thorkild, the main character - an associate professor and half-Marquesan searching for a mythical island.
- Kaloni Kienga - the grandfather of Gunnar, a Marquesan Navigator who taught Gunnar about the island.
- Carl Magnussen - a wealthy patron helping Gunnar on his voyage.
- James Neal Anderson
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Pocket Books edition of The Navigator
Publisher's Summary[]
Son of a Norwegian master-mariner and grandson of Kaloni, the last of the great Polynesian navigators, Gunnar Thorkild is a man consumed by a dream. Convinced that the Polynesians' legendary Island of the Dead is real, he risks his career, his life-and those of his fellow adventurers-to find it.
Shipwrecked on the very island they seek; the castaways are forced to leave behind everything they know and rely upon. To survive in this lush tropical paradise, they must make new laws of power and property, of sex and marriage.
The Navigator is a gripping tale of sea lore, shipwreck and moral courage.
Full Summary[]
Chapter One[]
Kaloni Kienga the Navigator sits on a beach at Hiva Oa and draws pictures in the sand. These pictures are duplicates of the tattoos covering his body. Once he finishes drawing the symbols, Kaloni sleeps.
At roughly the same time, the Dean of Oceanic Studies at the University of Hawaii - James Neal Anderson - sits at his garden. Anderson has invited Gunnar Thorkild to his home. Gunnar is the son of a Norwegian mariner and Kaloni Kienga's daughter. Gunnar was orphaned at a young age and climbed the ranks into becoming an assisstant professor at the University of Hawaii. Gunnar has applied to gain tenure - and has been rejected (though he is still kept on as an associate professor). Gunnar is angered by this news - believing himself to be way more deserving of tenure than his colleagues. Anderson supported Gunnar's claims for tenure. During their conversation on his rejection, Anderson reveals that the reason for his rejection was (at least partially) due to Gunnar's belief in a possibly mythical island between the Pitcairns and New Zealand. Gunnar and Anderson discuss Gunnar's belief in the island - based largely on information given to Gunnar by Kaloni Kienga. Anderson then gives Gunnar a choice - lie down in defeat or begin a voyage to the island. Gunnar asks to think it over before leaving.
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See Also[]
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding