This Is Paradise - by Kristiana Kahakauwila (Paperback)

About the Book

"A visceral, poignant, and elegantly gritty work of debut fiction set in Hawaii, in the vein of Junot Diaz's Drown and Danielle Evans's Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self This is the real Hawai'i: life is not the paradisical adventure that honeymooners or movie-goers see. Danger lurks on beautiful beaches, violence bubbles under the smooth surf, and characters come face to face with the inevitability of change and the need to define who they are against the forces of tradition and expectation. In these stories, a young woman decides to take revenge on the man who had her father murdered - only to find that her father wasn't who she thought he was. Three different groups of Hawaiian women observe and comment on the progress of an American tourist through one day and one night in Honolulu. And a young couple have an encounter with a stray dog that shakes their relationship to the core. Intimately tied to the Hawaiian Islands, This is Paradise explores the relationships among native Hawaiians, local citizens, and emigrants from (and to) the contiguous forty-eight states. There is tension between locals and tourists, between locals and the military men that populate their communities, between local Hawaiian girls who never leave, and those who do so for higher education and then return. Kahakauwila is a careful observer of her protagonists' actions - and, sometimes, their inaction. Her portrayal of people whose lives have lost their centre of gravity is acute, often heartbreaking, and suffused with a deeply felt empathy.With a contemporary edginess, a mature style, and a sense of history reverberating into the present, This is Paradise is an incredible debut"--

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"Vividly imagined, beautifully written, at times almost unbearably suspenseful--the stories in Kristiana Kahakauwila's debut collection, This Is Paradise, are boldly inventive in their exploration of the tenuous nature of human relations. These are poignant stories of 'paradise'--Hawai'i--with all that 'paradise' entails of the transience of sensuous beauty."--Joyce Carol Oates

"This is Paradise gives us a raw view of local color in all of its perplexities and pleasures. . . . [The stories] give us a picture of island life quite disturbing at the heart of things--the other side of paradise."--Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered

"Gritty, haunting, and suspenseful. This is Paradise navigates an ocean of tension between tourists and islanders in paradisiacal, paradoxical Hawai'i."--O, The Oprah Magazine

"[A] sparkling debut story collection. . . . A writer with one foot in the native Hawaiian community and the other in the mainland mainstream gives us an edgy, unmistakably authentic glimpse of the harder side of island life."--ELLE

"Excellent . . . Accomplished. This Is Paradise [is] a collection from gifted newcomer Kristiana Kahakauwila."--The Wall Street Journal

"Filled with an energy and outrage reminiscent of Jamaica Kincaid."--Publishers Weekly

"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 Hawai'i from the comfort of home."--BookPage

"Reminiscent of Lois-Ann Yamanaka's similarly gritty, no-holds-barred view of life in Hawaii, she is a fresh new voice to be watched."--Library Journal

"Finely wrought work from an impressive new talent. Tourists don't see the Hawai'i unsparingly yet lyrically depicted in Kahakauwila's debut collection."--Kirkus Reviews

"Cogent explorations of regret, remorse, ambition, and ambivalence can take place anywhere on earth, but in a land known for its beguiling enchantment, such fatalism takes on a forbidding, even sinister, mien as Kahakauwila deconstructs the aloha myth."--Booklist

"[Kristiana Kahakauwila] protagonists are as richly distinctive as the pidgin they speak, and yet each struggles profoundly with identity--that negotiation between ourselves and the world, which is at once Hawaiian, American, universally and compellingly human."--Peter Ho Davies

"In these lively, accomplished stories, Kristiana Kahakauwila paints a vivid portrait of modern Hawai'i--not the gauzy ideal of tourist vacations, but the messy, fascinating reality of its inhabitants. This is a impressive debut by a writer to watch."--Alix Ohlin

"Glowing with life, peril, and beautifully scaled human drama, This Is Paradise is full of people you'll never forget, and will never want to."--Michael Byers

About the Author

KRISTIANA KAHAKAUWILA, a native Hawaiian, was raised in Southern California. She earned a master's in fine arts from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from Princeton University. She has worked as a writer and editor for Wine Spectator, Cigar Aficionado, and Highlights for Children magazines. She taught English at Chaminade University in Honolulu and is now an assistant professor of creative writing at Western Washington University.