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This Is Paradise|Kristiana Kahakauwila
This Is Paradise : Stories
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Overview

Elegant, brutal, and profound--this magnificent debut captures the grit and glory of modern Hawai'i with breathtaking force and accuracy. In a stunning collection that announces the arrival of an incredible talent, Kristiana Kahakauwila travels the islands of Hawai'i, making the fabled place her own. Exploring the deep tensions between local and tourist, tradition and expectation, fa ade and authentic self, This Is Paradise provides an unforgettable portrait of life as it's truly being lived on Maui, Oahu, Kaua'i and the Big Island. In the gut-punch of "Wanle," a beautiful and tough young woman wants nothing more than to follow in her father's footsteps as a legendary cockfighter. With striking versatility, the title story employs a chorus of voices--the women of Waikiki--to tell the tale of a young tourist drawn to the darker side of the city's nightlife. "The Old Paniolo Way" limns the difficult nature of legacy and inheritance when a patriarch tries to settle the affairs of his farm before his death. Exquisitely written and bursting with sharply observed detail, Kahakauwila's stories remind us of the powerful desire to belong, to put down roots, and to have a place to call home.

Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780770436254
  • ISBN-10: 0770436250
  • Publisher: Hogarth Press
  • Publish Date: July 2013
  • Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 0.45 pounds
  • Page Count: 240

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This Is Paradise

For many, Hawaii conjures up images of grass skirts and fruity cocktails in a bucolic setting. But in today’s modern world, is this paradise only a myth? The short story collection This Is Paradise, from author Kristiana Kahakauwila, answers that question. Kahakauwila, a native Hawaiian raised in Southern California, explores the reality of life for Hawaiian locals in an impressive debut.

The opening story (which shares the book’s title) follows three groups of women over 24 hours as they narrate their encounters with a soon-to-be-intoxicated tourist. Whether the observations come from matronly maids at a hotel, executive women blowing off steam at Waikiki’s karaoke bar or teen surfers unafraid of the ocean’s dangerous undertow, each voice poignantly overlaps with the others to ring out like a song from a Greek chorus.

In the emotionally charged story “The Old Paniolo Way,” a gay son struggles with the decision to come out to his dying father, while falling head over heels for his father’s caretaker. Familial lines are crossed as the narrator’s sister also battles for the affections of the caretaker, even as she tries to convince her father to leave her (and not her brother) the family farm.

And in the collection’s strongest story, “Wanle,” a young woman avenges her father’s murder by challenging his rival at the local cockfighting ring.

One can almost smell the tropics emanating from each page, thanks to Kahakauwila’s startling and vivid imagery. With prose like a riptide, This Is Paradise is the perfect way to mentally transport you to Hawaii from the comfort of home.

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