The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 18 February 2015
by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Hawaii is a stunningly beautiful place, the place of fantasy experience, dreamy retirement, and game show prize packages. It has the clean beaches, fresh air and the swaying palm trees of all the postcards. But it has much, much more. With one of the most diverse populations of any state in the nation, it also has complex family stories, deep interactions, conflicts between tradition and modern life. And it has its own diaspora. Hawaiians are often faced with limited options in the islands, and thus travel to the Mainland to make their ways. Some stay there. Some come home to the islands. Much of Hawaii is a rural culture, close knit and given to passionate story telling. Here, in this small collection of stories by Hawaiian writer Kristiana Kahakauwila, we visit with a local culture of Hawaii that takes place under the sunny seaside surface of its postcards. We read of cultural reference points from the viewpoint of family dynamics. A girl following in her father's footsteps to the cockfighting pit. Advice to those who attend a Hawaiian family funeral. The traditional Big Island paniolo and his mainland dwelling gay son. People coming back to the islands to find home, or to see for the first time the culture from which they sprung. All of these are told with an appreciation for the real life of the islands, with strong families, complex cultural histories, economic challenges, and, looking over it all, the strange varied natural beauty of the islands themselves.