Post #790572 by TheBigT on Fri, Oct 19, 2018 10:57 AM

Just finished reading all but the last two pages last night. Found it a little thin on substance and a bit of a miss on the subject.

There's the prerequisite "Intro To Tiki" chapter and then chapters on Tiki in films, TV, music, and the demise and resurgance of Tiki.

Along the way example photos are interspersed, such plastic tiki tumblers, colorful Indonesian tiki masks, movie posters, and album covers. Was confused early on by the Chapter 2 essay, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. The rest of the book read as a series of synopses on various movies and albums.

Is this what Tiki means to newcomers looking into the subject? Surf music, beach party movies, Fantasy Island, the Brady Bunch?! I didn't encounter any of these things on a whirlwind tour of the Bali Hai, Humphrey's Half Moon Inn, False Idol, Tonga Hut, the Reef and so forth last year. All of which were my first exposure to "California Tiki".

The authors seem capable enough. It's the research, I think, that wasn't well baked. The $23.99 paperback price deserved better I think.