Aloha! To mark our ‘International’ issue, we felt we should take a trip to Hawaii - purely for research purposes  -  to enlighten you to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of  the Polynesian paradise.  Sadly, this was out of our budget, so instead - we’re bringing you ….The Book of Tiki.

            What is Tiki?  Tiki is a culture unto itself, a culture which is currently making something of a cult comeback, and our friends at Taschen have brought out the perfect accompaniment to this revival.  But what is Tiki?  Tiki was a craze, a trend, a fad, an obsession which gripped America in the post-war period and worked its way into every aspect of the new, leisure orientated society.  Soldiers returning from the South Pacific told exotic tales of lagoons, hoola skirts, strange music and moonlit beaches - stuff that would lend itself perfectly to the interior design of a motel bar somewhere in the wintry MidWest, the frenzy for all things Fiji gripping the nation.   Tiki was the perfect vehicle for the ‘Easy Listening’ culture of the ‘50s and ‘60s, the taste for the exotic incorporated into everything from cocktails to pop music; with the Minnesotan snow falling outside, you could sit in a windowless bar sipping  Hi-Balls served in carved, wooded mugs served by a grass-skirted waitress,  all of it accompanied by The Exotic Sounds of Arthur Lyman (parrot calls and Farfisa organs; strange, but compelling.)

            And at the time, it wasn’t kitsch.

            At the time, it was….sophisticated.

            Recently rediscovered as an interesting undercurrent in mid-century design, Tiki culture has gained a new following;  trendy clubs have nights devoted to the craze, with 20-Something hipsters showing up in polyester leisure suits, websites devoted to recreating - virtually - Tiki bars, where users with names like ‘King Mau Mau’ and ‘Andy Williams Fan’ swap Exotica vinyl and cocktail glasses.  The difference this time round is that it’s all done with the tongue firmly implanted in the cheek, the ironic distance born of forty years (and the realisation that Tiki is the epitome of kitsch) making it ‘cool’ to like Tiki. 

            Yes. Unbelievable as it seems, it’s now cool to like Tiki.

            Obviously, with this renaissance, we need some sort of guide, and - yet again - our funky friends at Taschen have delivered the goods.  Sven Kirsten’s Book of Tiki is a stylish and good humoured look at Tiki culture, page after glossy page of pictures, recipes, original ads’ and interior design inspiring the reader to start slicing pineapple in a frenzy! It is impossible to come away from The Book of Tiki without being infected with the island rhythms (I usually buy a bottle of wine for a Friday night in; tonight, I bought Mai Tai mix), the strangely seductive appeal of plastic hoola dolls and the music of Don Ho luring me into the world of Tiki - and it’s all Taschen’s fault.  As always with our favourite publisher, The Book of Tiki is visually gorgeous, incredibly tactile (all those glossy pages!) and written with the perfect combination of academic earnestness and a lot of cheeky fun.  The author clearly loves his subject, and - clearer still - he wants us to love it, too.  And it’s a credit to both Sven Kirsten and to Taschen that, after a tropical half hour with The Book of Tiki - we do.

            Both a fabulous gift and an invaluable ‘keeper’ (this is the ‘Mrs Beaton’ for the swinging Jet Set), The Book of Tiki comes highly recommended by the Kittens in Underpants.

• Click here to learn more about “The Book of Tiki”.