The color of air : a novel / Gail Tsukiyama.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780062976192
- ISBN: 0062976192
- Physical Description: 303 pages ; 24 cm
- Publisher: New York, New York : HarperVia, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2020]
- Copyright: ©2020.
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Families > Fiction. Hawaii > Fiction. Mauna Loa (Hawaii Island, Hawaii) > Fiction. |
Genre: | Domestic fiction. Historical fiction. |
Available copies
- 10 of 10 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Prince Rupert Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 10 total copies.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prince Rupert Library | Tsuk (Text) | 33294002092526 | Adult Fiction - Second Floor | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2020 May #2
*Starred Review* Lives reconverge under pressure in 1935, in Hilo, Hawaii. Koji, a once legendary sugar-cane cutter who came to the Big Island from Japan as a boy in 1895, is mourning Mariko, the love of his life. Also grieving is Mariko's closest friend, clever and tireless Nori, whose fish market is the de facto community center for the town's Japanese immigrant community. Mariko's son, Daniel, has been gone for years, studying medicine in Chicago and securing a prestigious appointment rare for an "Oriental," only to return home in despair. Daniel's high school sweetheart, whom he left behind, has also sought refuge in Hilo, after suffering violence in Honolulu. Now everyone faces impending disaster as the enormous volcano, Mauna Loa, reawakens and demonstrates its explosive power. Writing with supple and entrancing grace, Tsukiyama (A Hundred Flowers, 2012) has each of her charismatic, caring characters share their memories and heartaches, reaching back several decades in sections titled "Ghost Voices." Tsukiyama also evokes the wild, opulent beauty of the island, the harsh lives of migrant workers, racist and domestic violence, mystical connections, the repercussions of a love triangle, and the tolls of age. As the volcano erupts, long-buried secrets and guilt surge to seismic effect. Tsukiyama's dramatic yet discerningly congenial novel confronts the precariousness of existence and celebrates the healing power of generosity and love. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews. - BookPage Reviews : BookPage Reviews 2020 July
The Color of AirIn Gail Tsukiyama's eighth novel, a small Japanese community on Hawaii's Big Island is thrown into chaos in 1935 when the town's golden boy, Daniel Abe, returns home after several years away on the mainland. His homecoming coincides with the eruption of Mauna Loa, a portentous omen, as the locals have long viewed its seismic activity as the manifestation of the mercurial moods of Pele, the goddess of volcanoes and fire and the creator of the Hawaiian Islands.
As Daniel works to resettle into his former home and make peace with a tragedy that occurred while working as a doctor in Chicago, dormant secrets and sins of the past come bubbling up. Tensions rise further when he and the villagers learn that the lava flow from Mauna Loa is headed directly for them.
With The Color of Air, Tsukiyama revisits themes that have been constant over the course of her 20-year career, tenderly exploring the complicated web of family and the resilient nature of the human spirit, while also shedding light on an important period of Asian history, this time the indentured servitude of Asian people on the sugar plantations that were once Hawaii's lifeblood. As always, Tsukiyama's storytelling is deeply compassionate, undoubtedly buoyed by her personal ties to the material (her father was Japanese American by way of Hawaii), which lends a quiet and sincere intimacy to the proceedings.
There is plenty of interpersonal drama in this twisting tale of love and loss, but the novel's true joy and beauty come from the intensely atmospheric writing. Tsukiyama's prose is lush and sensual, fully immersing the reader in this pocket of paradise and bringing the island's spirits to life. She elevates Hawaii from a simple setting to a character as dynamic and vital as its human inhabitants.
An intoxicating blend of historical events and fiction, The Color of Air is a richly rewarding reading experience perfect for fans of Lisa See or Isabel Allende, or anyone looking for a magical love story that transcends time.
Copyright 2020 BookPage Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2020 May #2
In 1930s Hawaii, a tightknit community grows even closer in the weeks after the eruption of a nearby volcano threatens their town and brings up old secrets. Tsukiyama delivers the reader to the lush landscape of Hawaii on the day in 1935 when a prodigal son's return coincides with the eruption of Mauna Loa, a true event. Daniel Abe is a successful doctor in Chicago, but two years after his mother Mariko's death, a secret drives him home to Hilo, Hawaii. As he arrives, the volcano erupts. In the weeks it takes for the lava to flow toward the town, Daniel's childhood community comes together as they always have. With interludes of "ghost voices" and "island voices," the book reveals characters and events from decades prior, deepening the richness of the community. Told in close third person from various perspectives, the narrative draws the reader into the family ties and abundant landscape of Hilo. Tsukiyama writes her characters into the fabric of a time and place where the sugar cane industry was king; people from all over the world are recruited as workers only to be exploited by the plantation owners, and attempts at unionizat ion are violently extinguished. In Hilo, "a chorus of Portuguese, Chinese, Tagalog, and Japanese languages all melded into one indistinguishable song," but people were kept "separated by ethnic groups, just as the owners planned." Yet the mosaic of characters creates a family: "Not born to be, yeah...but chosen to be." Through tragedy and joy, Tsukiyama crafts characters whose reliance on each other is their greatest strength, with many strong women leading the way. The dialogue flows easily, and the landscape is rendered with such vibrance that the reader will become fully immersed in the sensory details. Well-paced and lush, this is a captivating historical novel that shows the power of love and human resilience. Copyright Kirkus 2020 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2020 February
Chicago-based doctor Daniel Abe is returning to Hawaii, where his uncle Koji eagerly anticipates revealing the truth about Daniel's father and his mother, Mariko, Koji's secret love. But Daniel's return coincides with the 1935 eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano. From
Copyright 2020 Library Journal.New York Times best-selling Tsukiyama; with a 100,000-copy first printing. - PW Annex Reviews : Publishers Weekly Annex Reviews
The 1935 eruption of Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano forms a suspenseful backdrop for Tsukiyama's engrossing novel (after A
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly Annex.Hundred Flowers ). The day the eruption begins, Daniel Abe returns to Hilo, where he was raised among the close-knit Japanese American community clustered around a brutal sugarcane plantation. Having overcome the prejudice against "Orientals," Daniel studied and practiced medicine in Chicago for 10 years before his guilt over fatally misdiagnosing a four-year-old patient drives him to return home. His mother, Mariko, died two years ago of cancer, and while living in her bungalow Daniel reconnects with Hilo's residents, including Koji, who drives the plantation's freight train and whose love helped sustain Mariko and Daniel after they were abandoned by Daniel's father; Mama Natua, a matriarch sliding into senility; and Daniel's former girlfriend, Maile, who has returned to Hilo with shame of her own. As the lava flow creeps toward Hilo, the characters cope with their own and others' secrets. Tsukiyama demonstrates a range of descriptive powers, depicting the island's beauty and the oppressive plantation with equal skill. The story's rich interconnections are captured through multiple third-person viewpoints and brief sections that revisit the past. Tsukiyama's rich and beautifully written exploration of the uncertainty of life and the power of community has timeless appeal.Agent: Joy Harris, Joy Harris Agency. (July)