Status Updates From This Is Paradise: Stories

The third story is about a couple (white guy born and raised in Hawaii and a Hawaiian girl who grew up on the mainland but has now moved back to the island for the first time). It was an abrupt story and how they handle a stray dog differently. Forth story was a list of rules for a drinking game. The fifth story felt very autobiographical. A Hawaiian man who loses a child and is torn between old and new family.

The first story was brilliant, showing the contrast between tourist and local. The tourist, who isn't interested in the people, land and history, but only in their own enjoyment. The second story is about violence and revenge and men. I'm still digesting what I just read.

We pretend that, if on vacation ourselves, we would act differently—hike Koko Head, attend a bon dance, visit the Palace and learn about the Hawaiian monarchy—but deep down , we know we’d do the same as they: venture no further than the nearest Starbucks.

We’d like to tell them the real Hawai’i is elsewhere, hidden in the karaoke bars on King Street and on Waimānalo’s ranch lands, in the view of the Mokes from Pillboxes and along the beach by Dillingham Air Strip, the portion of North Shore where only locals camp.

Loved it. Beautifully written!