RUBBING THE MAGIC LAMP

by Kirby Michael Wright

The two brothers Ben and Jeff are teenagers on Molokai and lonely staying on their grandmother's isolated ranch.

Puanani and Big Ruth, two cute local girls, sneak over to the grandmother's beach house around midnight to keep them company.

Nook

First published November 8, 2010

About the author

Kirby Wright is an American writer best known for his coming of age island novel PUNAHOU BLUES and the epic novel MOLOKA'I NUI AHINA, which is based on the life and times of Wright's paniolo grandmother. Both novels deal with the racial tensions between haoles (whites) and the indigenous Hawaiians, and illustrate the challenge for characters who, as the product of mixed-race marriages, must try to bridge the two cultures and overcome prejudice from both camps.
Wright's work is primarily concerned with the complexities of multicultural Hawaii, Killahaole Day, prejudices against (and within) island high schools, and the tricky matter of interracial dating. He incorporates the local creole language into his novels and was the first author to document the pidgin English spoken by the paniolo cowboys on the east end of Molokai.

Reviews

[Kirby Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming of Age in Hawaii seems a parade of Near Misses for the two teenage brothers spending their summer with Gramma on the remote island of Moloka'i, even when they succeed in talking 2 local wahines into sneaking over to Gramma's lanai in the dead of night. Highly enjoyable, and on par with the coming of age stories by James Joyce. Highly Recommended.