asianamlitfans | A Review of Kristiana Kahakauwila's This Is Paradise: Stories (Hogarth, 2013)

Written by Stephen Hong Sohn

Edited by Uttara Rangarajan

So, awhile back, the brilliant pylduck reviewed Kristiana Kahakauwila's This Is Paradise: Stories (Hogarth, 2013). Sometimes, when another reviewer covers a title, I choose not to review, but I had a chance to return to this title because a former of student of mine wanted to read it. Why not? By, the way, here is pylduck’s review, way back when we were on Livejournal and in the heyday of blogging (*sadface*). Let’s make the important statement that Kahakauwila is not an Asian American writer and identifies partly as Native Hawaiian, but we occasionally cast our lenses to other BIPOC and minority groups just to keep it interesting and to keep our spirit of inclusivity up and running! That being said, let us allow the marketing description get us moving further down the review road: “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, 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. 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.”

Looking back at pylduck’s review, the opening story is exactly what he mentioned in that it has the signature choral narration that turns poetic. The opening story focuses on the complications between tourist culture and the locals, which ultimately trouble this tropical location as the titular paradise. I actually really love choral narration, so this opening story was a huge hit for me. The other stories mentioned are likewise very strong. “Wanle” is a tough one about honoring one’s ancestral legacy, which ends up fragmenting a budding romantic relationship. “The Old Paniolo Way” is a tough coming out story. “The Road to Hana” and “Portrait of a Good Father” essentially portray two sides of romantic trajectories. The first considers the budding relationship of a couple who has traveled to the islands, while the second looks at a marriage undergoing dissolution. The most formally inventive story is “Thirty-Nine Rules for Making a Hawaiian Funeral into a Drinking Game,” which is essentially structured as a list. This story isn’t as successful obviously from an immersive standpoint, but it does evoke the boundaries between poetry and prose, as readers are expected to do way more work in terms of closure. As a whole the collection functions as “slice of life” type narratives that call to mind the workshop styles that come out of MFA programs. This perspective isn’t meant to be a critique, but more of a nod to the ways that writing programs have certainly made their presence known through the emergence of these very talented writers. I don’t think Kahakauwila has another publication yet, but I can only imagine that the prose will be as precise and crystalline as what is apparent in this debut.

Buy the Book Here