The Braid

by Ian MacMillan

“'I want you to take this to a place and bury it…Listen, if you don't, I'll wander for eternity. Bury it with my people. Remember this. I know you will, because you remember everything. Malaekahana.” With this, a nineteen year-old alcoholic is sent on a voyage to the place of his birth, a place in his past, a place he needs to return to to find himself. Ian MacMillan is a master of story-telling and has the ability to bring the reader eye to eye with shadowed areas of the human psyche.

Paperback

Published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Dani Dickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book in a tiny little book store somewhere around the North Shore in Hawaii. I enjoyed it because it was written by a local and contains a lot of info about Oahu. He ties in local landmarks, the Hawaiian lifestyle and the history of the islands with a endearing little story. Easy quick read. I probably enjoyed it more so because I'm vacationing here and can relate to some of it.

[Marianne V · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book in the airport on leaving Hawaii - appropriate as the book deals with a kind of pilgrimage to Hawaii. The dyslexic and often drunk teenage protagonist cares for his mother as she is dying, and in honor of her last wish, cuts of her braid to bury it in her home - Hawaii. The book deals with his journey once he arrives there.