Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Historical Fiction
Approximate word count: 100-105,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Born in
Hawaii, CW Schutter now lives in the mountains of Colorado. She’s written two
previous novels, Dragon Downs and School of Shadows, the second a nominee
in the BigAl’s Books and Pals 2014 Readers’ Choice Awards in the paranormal
romance category. Schutter is also a screenwriter with one made movie among her
credits.
Description:
“The Ohana
is a riveting retrospective of the social, political, and economic history of
Hawaii told through a historical family saga spanning three unforgettable
generations. From the young Korean, Han Chaul Roong, who murders the hated
Japanese invaders who kidnap his sister and force her into prostitution, to the
Japanese aristocrat Kazuko who abandons her life of wealth and privilege to
live in poverty with the servant she loves, the Asians came to work the brutal
cane fields of Hawaii under Patrick O'Malley, a refugee from the Irish famine
who sailed on a coffin ship to the gang-infested streets of Boston and ended up
in Hawaii.”
Appraisal:
The Ohana (ohana means family in Hawaiian) is
just what the description claims, a story of a family entwined with “the
social, political, and economic history of Hawaii.” The family has branches
originating from varied backgrounds and cultures. The story spans a time that
was rife with cultural change and upheaval for all of the US. I suspect this
change was more extreme for Hawaii with multiple waves of immigration as well as
changes brought about from becoming a territory of the US not long before the tale
starts. The story was compelling and the backdrop was just as interesting.
However, I
also found myself struggling at times with the dialog of some characters who
used convoluted syntax and while I could intuit what they were saying, it also
didn’t make for smooth reading, as in this snippet of dialogue.
“’Sorry, brah,” Moki patted his
back. “Da Silva don’ believe in letting anyone go for nothing. So he when show
you what he can do. He when do that with his left hand. Pretty good, ‘ey?”
I
interpreted examples such as these as done on purpose, a non-error. The number
of actual grammatical and other proofing issues outside of dialogue was higher
than I like to see, but not excessive. Combined, the two made for sometimes
rough reading, but not enough to abandon a story I wanted to see through to the
end.
Format/Typo Issues:
A small
number of proofing errors.
Rating: *** Three Stars
2 comments:
Hi BigAl,
I have not read this book, but the dialogue example is pidgin english. It's spoken by the locals (and was thoroughly discouraged by my parents).
Aloha,
Steve
Thanks for the comment, Stephen. I assumed it was authentic (how a local, especially at during the time this took place) actually talked. I viewed it much the same as as I do accent in dialogue. Some can be good for characterization, but a little bit goes a long way. It doesn't take much before it tends to get in the way of the story, at least for me.
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