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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Jul 2020, 320 pages
Paperback:
May 2021, 256 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Callum McLaughlin
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From the New York Times bestselling author of Women of the Silk and The Samurai's Garden comes a gorgeous and evocative historical novel about a Japanese-American family set against the backdrop of Hawai'i's sugar plantations.
Daniel Abe, a young doctor in Chicago, is finally coming back to Hawai'i. He has his own reason for returning to his childhood home, but it is not to revisit the past, unlike his Uncle Koji. Koji lives with the memories of Daniel's mother, Mariko, the love of his life, and the scars of a life hard-lived. He can't wait to see Daniel, who he's always thought of as a son, but he knows the time has come to tell him the truth about his mother, and his father. But Daniel's arrival coincides with the awakening of the Mauna Loa volcano, and its dangerous path toward their village stirs both new and long ago passions in their community.
Alternating between past and present―from the day of the volcano eruption in 1935 to decades prior―The Color of Air interweaves the stories of Daniel, Koji, and Mariko to create a rich, vibrant, bittersweet chorus that celebrates their lifelong bond to one other and to their immigrant community. As Mauna Loa threatens their lives and livelihoods, it also unearths long held secrets simmering below the surface that meld past and present, revealing a path forward for them all.
Excerpt
The Color Of Air
Nori hurried back from the green bungalow to the Okawa Fish Market, across the road from Hilo Bay. One of the two- story clapboard buildings on Kamehameha Avenue, it had formerly been the Hilo Town Bar. She passed the older, two- story S. Hata Building, and the S. H. Kress & Company Building, where all the wealthy haole ladies, whose husbands managed the plantations and ran the banks, came down from their big houses up the hill to have lunch and shop for the latest fashions. The buildings gleamed in their Art Deco newness, both products of the sugar wealth in Hilo town during the past forty years that had kept the town growing, and dimmed all the small family- owned businesses of her childhood. Nori swallowed her rising anxiousness and pushed through the crowded streets. She didn't want to be late to Daniel's party.
Since the stock market crash six years ago, there had been other changes. The once- quiet downtown streets were noisy and restless, teeming with ...
Flashbacks to the past and multiple perspective changes help to reinforce the characters' bonds both to each other and to the land around them. Initially, this can call for a little patience as you make sense of the many connections between supporting characters and slot everyone into the bigger picture. Once this happens, however, it's a book that is easy to fly through. Offering fascinating insight into a slice of Hawaii's cultural and natural history, and a poignant look at the unique brand of love that endures for the community that raised you, The Color of Air is a novel that is all the more powerful for its understated approach to big themes and ideas...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Callum McLaughlin).
Elizabeth George, #1 New York Times bestselling author
With a piercing and authentic sense of place, Gail Tsukiyama brings to life a group of ordinary Japanese/Hawaiians with intertwined lives that are filled with love, passion, empathy, wisdom, and joy. Life is hard, but it is not hopeless and in the shadow of the volcano Mauna Loa, unforgettable individuals--drawn by the author with tenderness and in vivid detail--contend with the pain and confusion of the past and the fleeting moments of happiness in the present, letting go of both pain and fear in order to meet the future. Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of Are All Completely Beside Ourselves and Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award
The Color of Air is quintessential Tsukiyama, generous in spirit, gorgeously written, and full of secrets and surprises. Every character in this ensemble novel is as compelling and appealing as the next and together they lead the reader into the beating heart of this tight-knit community. A stupendous work. Nancy Horan, New York Times bestselling author of Loving Frank and Under the Wide and Starry Sky
Tsukiyama's beautiful telling of an island son's homecoming had me under a spell to the last page. The Color of Air pulls you in gently and takes you deep.
Mauna Loa comprises more than half the landmass of the Big Island, the largest in the chain of islands that make up the state of Hawaii. The world's largest active volcano, it stands at 13,678 feet above sea level but reaches an astonishing 30,000 feet from the seafloor. To put this into perspective, this makes Mauna Loa's total height greater than that of Mount Everest, and amounts to such a vast size that the ocean floor actually bends beneath its weight.
Mauna Loa is categorized as a "shield volcano," recognizable for their broad, gently sloping mounds as opposed to sharp peaks. This is caused by high-volume lava flows that travel long distances from the point of eruption, snaking across the earth and solidifying over time to form the...
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