Although he is afraid of the sea, the son of a Polynesian chief, whose people worship courage, sets out alone in his canoe to conquer his fear.

Ever since his mother drowned, Mafatu, a 15-year-old Polynesian boy, has had a profound fear of the sea. One day he finds an inner strength to overcome his terror.

In 1894, Paul Gauguin left Europe to spend two years in Tahiti, where he produced some of his most beautiful and best-known paintings. But he also created another masterpiece that has languished in obscurity for nearly 100 years: a detailed, entertaining journal and the sensuous woodblock prints and sketches made to accompany it. In this exquisitely designed edition, Chronicle Books is proud to publish together for the first time the evocative text...