Another winner by Brennert
I promised highlights from the One Book One San Diego event last week with Molokai author Alan Brennert and I must ask for your forgiveness for my tardiness in getting back to here to do just that. Life has a way of crowding in on your plans. Had a crazy busy stretch of days. I looked up from it all, amazed that a full week had gone by already. Yikes.
Suffice it to say that the evening was wonderful. KPBS and the San Diego Library held the event on a retired ferry, The Berkeley, that dates back to 1893, right about the time the protagonist in Molokai, a little girl named Rachel, was born. There was Hawaiian guitar music before and after, Hawaiian refreshments, and of course comments and insights from the talented Alan Brennert. I have already used this blog to tout the merits of Molokai – it’s a fabulous read – so I won’t slide into redundancy here, but if you have the chance to hear Mr. Brennert speak of his research trips to Molokai and the writing of this book, jump on it.
The day after this event, which I attended with some book club friends, we and the rest of the club gathered to discuss Honolulu, another fabulously researched and crafted novel by Brennert, this one centering on a supremely likeable Korean picture bride named Jin. I loved Molokai and had nearly the mirror-imaged feelings for Honolulu; it’s a close second-place finish.
The best thing about Brennert’s writing is you get totally caught up in his fictive world, almost unaware that you are learning so much history while you are captive to the story. I read Michener’s Hawaii thirty years ago, and I remember being floored by the historical richness, but you get the same thing with Brennert’s books on Hawaii in a quicker read and with more memorable characters. I highly recommend both.
And now, the book that wants to be written is teasing me to come have at it. Better go while the muse is in a friendly mood. Have a lovely Memorial Day weekend.
