this is paradise by kristiana kahakauwila

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.Įxquisitely 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. 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. Exploring the deep tensions between local and tourist, tradition and expectation, façade 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.

This is Paradise is now available for purchase.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. The other stories-among them 'The Old Paniolo Way,' about a grown son who comes out as gay as his father lies dying and 'Portrait of a Good Father,' in which a girl holds tight to her relationship with her dad after her parents' marriage ends-prove Kahakauwila's skill at showing that the real Hawaii, for all its beauty, is 'no fantasyland.' Their collective voices become a warning chorus against the dangers of thinking of Hawaii as a paradise, but also serve to soothe their spooked community. In the title story, groups of Hawaiian women take turns narrating the tale of a young white tourist girl ('They're all white to us unless they're black') who goes missing after meeting a man at a local lounge.

They were my way of doing right by him, and they were me.'

I wanted to please the Indian, wanted to be the woman he thought I should be, but the roosters were my dad. The valley below turned purple in the reflected light, and above me Haleakala became nothing more than a black shadow against a black sky. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to playĪfter arguing with her lover, she recollects, 'I stayed outside with my birds until the sun sank completely into the ocean.

This is paradise by kristiana kahakauwila