The Hawai'i Review of Books

Dec 23, 2024 | hawaiireviewofbooks.com | Alan Brennert

In his sixteen years at Kalawao, Damien had seen thousands of souls die of leprosy; he did not regard his soul as being in any way different from these and did not expect a different ending for himself. But because his body had always been graced with such extravagantly good health and strength, he had never pictured himself as he was now: weak, bedridden, robbed of his mobility.

Nov 24, 2024 | hawaiireviewofbooks.com | Kai Gaspar

An Interview with Kai Gaspar and Noʻu Revilla NO‘U REVILLAAloha nui, dear friend. Piha kuʻu naʻau me ka mahalo. Ulu is such a gift. Page after page, your writing affirms how we as ʻŌiwi cannot write about desire without writing about ʻāina, and we cannot write about ʻāina without writing about desire. The wahi pana of Hōnaunau [on the southern Kona coast of the island of Hawaiʻi, where Gaspar grew up] is a foundational presence in Ulu.

Mar 3, 2024 | hawaiireviewofbooks.com | Grace Loh Prasad

Growing up as a young child in New Jersey, I did not understand what my dad did for a living. All I knew was that he would disappear for ten hours a day and frequently went on long trips to faraway places.

Jan 25, 2024 | hawaiireviewofbooks.com | Zoe Eisenberg

The afternoon of Theo’s party I went with Jess to pick up the cake. It was a Saturday, the sidewalk hot as the hood of a car, the cake box heavy as we moved down bayfront. My mouth tasted like metal, I’d forgotten my sunglasses, and with no free hand to shield my face I was forced to squint against the violent sun. At midday, the island wore a deep, brilliant blue, the color a regional trademark, something about the way the sun reflected off the lava rock.

Dec 31, 2023 | hawaiireviewofbooks.com | Don Wallace

It was a long time coming, this moment. Fact is, there’s never been a year remotely like it for Hawai‘i, in terms of books. Local authors published by mainstream houses or a big indie gave us four strong novels, a shockingly good story collection, and an acute Hawaiian diaspora memoir. Previously, a good year was a book by Susanna Moore, Kiana Davenport or Lois-Ann Yamanaka—and there were many years without any.