A Map of Paradise

by Linda Ching Sledge

With its green cliffs and silvery waterfalls, Hawaii offers radiant hope to Rulan and Pao An—exiles from Chinese tyranny, immigrants with the will to succeed despite hardship and prejudice and enemies from their homeland. But this proud couple’s hardest struggle will be with their own child—Mulan, called Molly.

Born in Hawaii’s sacred hills, Molly grows to despise the old Chinese ways. Locked in perpetual combat with her new parents, she is drawn into a dangerous love affair with a glamorous but decadent poet, a protégé of the king. And even as the family’s fortunes rise, Molly’s mother watches in sorrow, fearing that her child will realize too late that happiness lies far closer to home.

Beautifully told, A Map of Paradise offers the colorful sweep of history with the satisfaction of characters intimately revealed.

416 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

Reviews

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story primarily about Chinese immigrants in Hawaii. There's short section on Chinese immigrants in California. The history of both are interesting. I won't recount the book's storyline. The writing is competent and solid. And it certainly tells the immigrant story and that part of Hawaii's history in an engaging way. Yet...there was something missing... a certain depth in its characters, a certain compelling movement that drove us to turn the page, a certain tone reflecting nuance as well as intensity.

I enjoyed this book but consider it a light read.... entertaining, some very good historical elements.

[Harvee Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful love story and historical novel set in Hawaii in the 19th Century. It tells the story of the settling of new immigrants from China, of the old Hawaiian kingdom and the rise of Western influence in the islands. It's also about the new Hawaii - a mixture of Hawaiians, part-Hawaiians, and immigrants. http://bookbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/...