Delete P: New Developments in Services and Therapy

Nelson, co-translator of Letters and Drawings of Bruno Schultz , combines an artistic writer's sensibility with that of an amateur archeologist in a probing, witty chronicle of culturally and topographically diverse Hawaii. As a young professor in the English department at the University of Hawaii in the early '70s, she immersed herself in a study of the land, its people, heritage, customs and, above all, the experience of living as a haole (mainland American) in a place that remains seductively foreign despite proliferating Hilton Hotels and McDonalds. Nelson examines Hawaii's physical beauty with a fresh eye and unravels a complex social structure linking a wide spectrum of ethnic groups. The archeological digs in which she took part allow her to delve into the islands' history and attendant mythologies. Intent on a personal odyssey, she also peppers her tale with anecdotes of her generation's freewheeling ethos. A strikingly original yet unassuming narrator, Nelson tells a story hard to put down. (Jan.)