Melal: A Novel of the Pacific by Robert Barclay (The University of Hawai'i Press). This debut novel by a doctoral student is a gripping story and powerful social commentary. Set in a marginalized indigenous community in the Marshall Islands, which the U. S. military used as a nuclear testing ground, Barclay traces the horrific and tragic results suffered by native islanders. The author is a former resident of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.