num_pages: 240
description: 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 faade and authentic self This Is Paradise provides an unforgettable portrait of life as its 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 fathers footsteps as a legendary cockfighter. With striking versatility the title story employs a chorus of voicesthe women of Waikikito tell the tale of a young tourist drawn to the darker side of the citys 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 Kahakauwilas stories remind us of the powerful desire to belong to put down roots and to have a place to call home.
language: English
title: This Is Paradise: Stories
publisher: Hogarth