University of Hawai’i Press (2017)
The Charm Buyers describes extraordinary beauty and turbulent change: Tahiti during the last years of nuclear testing in the Pacific.
“The Charm Buyers isn’t just a book, it’s a world―full of the complexity and beauty of life, masterfully created. Reading this felt like diving into a reality both eerily familiar and yet artistically brand new. Lillian Howan’s talent is rare, refreshing, and casts a spell from page one.” —Mat Johnson, author of Loving Day and Pym
“The Charm Buyers is a thought-provoking insight into a time of cultural change. It captures an essence of existing between reality and surreality, dreaming and wakefulness, the past and the future.” —Foreword Reviews
https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/the-charm-buyers/
Lights From A Distance An essay I wrote about my father, ancient navigation, and Tahiti. Thank you author, activist, actor, and poet Leslie Stuart Tate for your beautiful presentation of my essay. Thank you Francoise Holozet-Howan for this wondrous photo.
birds of the islands
photo courtesy of Chantal Howan
Land of Dreams. Mo’orea in the distance.
photo: Bruno Leou-on
Author of The Charm Buyers, University of Hawai'i Press, recipient of the Ka Palapala Po'okela Award for Excellence; The Spellbound, forthcoming 2026
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