The "we" of the story traces the perspectives of a few groups of Native Hawaiian women across class divides, occupations, and experiences living on and off the islands. The opening story, "This Is Paradise," reminded me of Julie Otsuka's latest novel, The Buddha in the Attic, with its collective first person point of view. I'll touch on just a few of the stories in this review. Kahakauwila's sensibility is very much about looking beyond the narrative of celebratory multiculturalism to understand the dynamics of Native Hawaiian communities and their diasporas within the context of the United States. I think this collection would lend itself well to studies in critical multiculturalism. Kristiana Kahakauwila's debut short story collection This Is Paradise: Stories (Hogarth, 2013) contains six stories all set in Hawai'i and featuring a multiethnic cast of characters as well as both local and mainland figures.
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