Honolulu

by Alan Brennert | Literature & Fiction | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 0312606346 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingAzukiwing of Miami, Florida USA on 1/23/2012
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2 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingAzukiwing from Miami, Florida USA on Monday, January 23, 2012
Regret (so named as her father is disappointed that she isn't a boy) is a young girl in Korea at the turn of the 20th century. One day, she found a torn page from a book, which sparks her desire to learn to read, and her desire to have more than a lifetime of servitude and submission as daughter and then wife. Her bid to break free comes when she learns of the "picture brides", essentially mail-order brides for Korean men in Hawaii. She overcomes her family's objections and embarks upon her greatest adventure, in the company of four other Korean girls.

Once she lands in Hawaii, she finds that the streets are not paved with gold, and her husband is an abusive drunkard and gambler. However, her courage and resourcefulness carries on her, as she begins a new life on a strange land.

This book is captivating from page one. As the story continues, the life feels a bit more mundane. I can imagine some of my book club friends complaining about the lack of climax (it's a frequent debate, while I belong to the camp who can enjoy books that represent real life without climax) The well-researched details paint a vivid picture of Regret's life and the communities around her. It is en eye-opener about life in Korea and Hawaii around 1900's, a period I knew little of.

PRAISE FOR Honolulu, selected as "One of the Best Books of 2009" by The Washington Post, and winner of Elle’s Lettres 2009 Grand Prix for Fiction.

“A well-researched and deftly written tale….For sheer readability, it's a hit…. Brennert has a good eye for places we can't see anymore: plantation life before the unions gained power; Chinatown when it was all tenements; Waikiki before the high-rises started going up. And it's clear he has real affection for the little people and places he so vividly brings to life. He's not just using historic Honolulu as a place to set a novel; he's bringing it to life for people who haven't had the chance to imagine it before.” –Honolulu Star-Bulletin

“With skill, historic accuracy and sensitivity and a clear passion for the people and places in Hawaii, Brennert weaves a story that will move and inspire readers.” –The Oklahoman

“Successful historical fiction doesn't just take a story and doll it up with period detail. It plunges readers into a different world and defines the historical and cultural pressures the characters face in that particular time and place. That's what Los Angeles writer Alan Brennert did in his previous novel, Moloka’i, the story of diseased Hawaiians exiled in their own land. He has done it again in "Honolulu," which focuses on the Asian immigrant experience in Hawaii, specifically that of Korean picture brides….This is a moving, multilayered epic by a master of historical fiction, in which one immigrant's journey helps us understand our nation's "becoming." –San Francisco Chronicle

Now sending to a birthday girl who has this on her wishlist.

Journal Entry 2 by msjoanna at Columbia, Missouri USA on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
This looks excellent and my sister and her family are about to move to Hawaii, so I thought I should read something about Hawaii's history. Thanks for sending this along.

Journal Entry 3 by msjoanna at Columbia, Missouri USA on Saturday, August 31, 2013
Unfortunately, this book was damaged in a flood in my house and has to be thrown away. So sad.

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