H AWAI I (937 pp.)James A. Michener Random House ($6.95).
In an age of giantism, novels are growing larger; a 300-pager is hardly more than a pamphlet, and a typical Book-of-the-Month selection, if dropped on the toe, does about as much damage as a bowling ball. Readers' eyes flicker dimly, and the backs of elderly librarians creak like dry bamboo. Author James A. (Tales of the South Pacific) Michener's latest is no mere three-generation monsterpiece; it spans 52 generations, counting only generations of humans. But Michener's fictionalized biography of the 50th state starts long before there are people.
In the beginning, there heaves...