Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Song of the Exile by Kiana Davenport, Gabrille de Cuir ISBN: 0-7871-1994-6 Publisher: Dove Books Audio Pub. Date: September, 1999 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (20 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A haunting tale of a dark time in history
Comment: To Kiana Davenport's credit, she didn't try to recreate her former book "Shark Dialogues" and moved on instead to break new ground.
The story starts during a time of innocence for Hawaii, shortly before WW2 and extends through the time of statehood in the 1950s. This is more than just the story of Hawaii, however. It is the story of a native Hawaiian jazz musician, Keo, who travels to New Orleans, Paris and then Shanghai, and finds himself in a brutal Japanese prison during the war. It is also the story of Sunny, his Korean-Hawaiian girlfriend, who finds herself a Japanese "comfort woman".
The author doesn't spare the reader the horrors of the war. Her searing words shed light on this dark time in history with an intensity that made me shudder with its graphic violence and unremitting horrors. Over and over the reader experiences the starvation, disease, pain and physical and mental deterioration of people who are forced to live in unspeakable conditions where human endurance under such circumstances is tested to the limit.
Woven throughout the plot is the story of their families, life in Hawaii, and the spirituality of the Hawaiian people. The reader also feels the cadence of Hawaii and the magic in her words as she describes Keo's music.
I would have liked this book to be lighter. I would have liked to smile rather than cringe at the unrelenting horror. I would have liked a happier ending. But that is not the story that the author wanted to tell. And so I accept it on its own terms. And, if nothing else, it makes me appreciate the good life I have.
I recommend this book but be forewarned. It will haunt your dreams and inspire nightmares.
Rating: 5
Summary: Mesmerizing writing about music
Comment: Unlike many other readers, I am not reading this book because of any interest in Hawaii, or even in World War II. It was a Christmas gift to me from someone who heard the author on the radio, but hadn't read the book herself. When I first looked at it, I thought, "This is not something I want to read!" It is full of graphic violence and horror. However, as I read on, I was mesmerized by the writing itself. Because the book is too heavy for my daily commute, it's taking me a very long time to read, and I find that I'm actually trying to make it last longer. I've never come across any writing about music (and it's not just jazz) to compare with Davenport's. I would say to anyone who's afraid to read the book because of the terrible images of suffering: The writing is so beautiful and intense that reading it is a joyful experience in itself. (What's really depressing to me is something that's badly or slickly written.)
Rating: 4
Summary: One of the saddest books I've ever read
Comment: This book was unlike anything else I've ever read. It was incredibly tragic and haunting. It made me feel for those women like Sunny, the ones who became nobody, because their minds couldn't get out of the past yet their bodies moved on through time. It really is haunting and although I didn't like it at first, because it was an unusual style for me, I grew to appreciate it. It's powerful and sad, and wonderful, too.
 |
Title: Shark Dialogues by Kiana Davenport ISBN: 0452274583 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: August, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: Makai by Kathleen Tyau ISBN: 0807083453 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 20 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: A Little Too Much Is Enough by Kathleen Tyau ISBN: 0393315592 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: November, 1996 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
 |
Title: Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers (Harvest Book) by Lois-Ann Yamanaka ISBN: 0156004836 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: May, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
 |
Title: Lava: A Novel by Pamela Ball ISBN: 0393040240 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 1997 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
