![]() ![]() Of course, the life that awaits her when she lands in Honolulu in 1915 is not exactly as advertised. "It is a journey measured not in time or distance, but in the breadth of one's soul and the struggle of becoming," reflects protagonist-narrator Jin, at 60, looking back at how far she's come since her days confined to chores and sewing with her mother in the inner room of their house in rural Korea.īeaten by her father for asking to go to school, she secretly learns to read and then at 18 leaps at the chance to marry an allegedly prosperous Korean man in Hawaii, learning English before departing. He has done it again in "Honolulu," which focuses on the Asian immigrant experience in Hawaii, specifically that of Korean picture brides. That's what Los Angeles writer Alan Brennert did in his previous novel, "Molokai," the story of diseased Hawaiians exiled in their own land. It plunges readers into a different world and defines the historical and cultural pressures the characters face in that particular time and place. Successful historical fiction doesn't just take a story and doll it up with period detail. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |