Kahakai Kitchen
Kristiana Kahakauwila digs deep into the culture and gives the reader rare glimpses of life in the “real” Hawaii not the rainbow-studded tropical paradise surface that people most often see in movies or on vacation. The stories in This is Paradise explore the deep tensions between local and tourist, tradition and expectation, façade and authentic self, provides an unforgettable portrait of life as it’s truly being lived on Maui, Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island.
In the title story, three groups of local women from different walks of life take turns observing and judging the behaviors of a young female tourist in Waikiki who learns that “paradise” has a darker side.
Read an excerpt.
Wanle looks at betrayal, revenge and the underground world of cock-fighting on Maui.
The Road to Hana finds a young couple traveling in Maui and struggling with which of the two is more Hawaiian—the Caucasian male, Honolulu born and raised or the native Hawaiian female who was born and raised in Nevada.
Thirty-Nine Rules for Making a Hawaiian Funeral Into a Drinking Game is the humorous but poignant observations of local family behaviors from a hapa haole (half white, half foreign) female, born and raised in California but in Kauai for her grandmother’s funeral.
Portrait of a Good Father explores the effects of grief on the members of a Honolulu family (father, mother, father’s mistress, daughter/sister) when their son/brother is killed in a hit in run.
The Old Paniolo Way has an in-the-closet gay son returning to the Big Island to support his sister and be with his dying cowboy/rancher father while struggling with both his impending loss and the secrets he is keeping from his family.
These stories aren’t “pretty” with happily ever-afters, they are raw and real, moving and full of angst, and strong emotions. Author Kahakauwila truly captures the essence of Hawaii—its beauty as well as its warts and brings it to life in colorful descriptions and language choice—lapsing into Hawaiian Pidgin, (the form of language or communication used in varying degrees by many Hawaii residents) when appropriate in the dialog. I found myself laughing in parts, moved to tears in others and finding familiarity—I do know some of these people and have been to many of these places and events.
Interview with Kristiana Kahakauwila.
Kristiana Kahakauwila digs deep into the culture and gives the reader rare glimpses of life in the “real” Hawaii not the rainbow-studded tropical paradise surface that people most often see in movies or on vacation. The stories in This is Paradise explore the deep tensions between local and tourist, tradition and expectation, façade and authentic self, provides an unforgettable portrait of life as it’s truly being lived on Maui, Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island.
In the title story, three groups of local women from different walks of life take turns observing and judging the behaviors of a young female tourist in Waikiki who learns that “paradise” has a darker side.
Read an excerpt.
Wanle looks at betrayal, revenge and the underground world of cock-fighting on Maui.
The Road to Hana finds a young couple traveling in Maui and struggling with which of the two is more Hawaiian—the Caucasian male, Honolulu born and raised or the native Hawaiian female who was born and raised in Nevada.
Thirty-Nine Rules for Making a Hawaiian Funeral Into a Drinking Game is the humorous but poignant observations of local family behaviors from a hapa haole (half white, half foreign) female, born and raised in California but in Kauai for her grandmother’s funeral.
Portrait of a Good Father explores the effects of grief on the members of a Honolulu family (father, mother, father’s mistress, daughter/sister) when their son/brother is killed in a hit in run.
The Old Paniolo Way has an in-the-closet gay son returning to the Big Island to support his sister and be with his dying cowboy/rancher father while struggling with both his impending loss and the secrets he is keeping from his family.
These stories aren’t “pretty” with happily ever-afters, they are raw and real, moving and full of angst, and strong emotions. Author Kahakauwila truly captures the essence of Hawaii—its beauty as well as its warts and brings it to life in colorful descriptions and language choice—lapsing into Hawaiian Pidgin, (the form of language or communication used in varying degrees by many Hawaii residents) when appropriate in the dialog. I found myself laughing in parts, moved to tears in others and finding familiarity—I do know some of these people and have been to many of these places and events.
Interview with Kristiana Kahakauwila.
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