Modern Hawaiian magical realism… I mean, I feel like I could just leave it at that (but I won’t).
The parents, Malia and Augie, of this novel are so utterly flawed and the journey they take from the conception of their children to their adulthoods made my heart hurt. They knew they were making so many mistakes, but they also desperately wanted the best for the next generation. It’s so hard when you’re in the thick of trying to survive to be reflective- hindsight’s twenty-twenty and all that. Despite the familial damage caused, they never give up on their kids.
I really enjoyed how the element of nature became so integral to the story, whether it was hiking through deep Hawaiian valleys or farming techniques. Washburn’s message about the importance of staying connected to the earth is one of the most prominent.
One of the things I really loved about this book is that it’s messy, just like life. People pop up and then disappear, moments are regretted later, characters hurt, they say the wrong thing, exaggerated weight is placed upon things in the one that, the wrong people are loved…
The waxing and waning bonds of siblings was also something I could relate to, the relationships between brother and sisters changing as people get older. There’s so much baggage that comes with growing up together in the Flores family that when they’re forced to confront it their lives are shaken to the very core.
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