On the surface, The Color of Air is a historical novel but, as such, the historical element takes a bit of a backseat where the emphasis is on the characters and their interactions.
Daniel has returned to his native Hawaii after a three year absence, Before he was working in a Chicago hospital as a doctor. The reason why he is coming back is because he had an unfortunate diagnosis and he has to leave that behind. As historical backdrop, this is the year 1935 and Hawaii’s volcanoes are exploding.
There are a lot of mysteries in Daniel’s life. Why his father disappeared, if his mentor Koji is hiding something from him, whether the community knows about his past and whether he’ll reconcile with a lover he left due to his studies.
The Color of Air is a multi generational story which explores the repercussions of actions, how one movement can be considered a secret for one generation but has to be told to the next. The book is also about love and a racist attitudes towards the Japanese immigrants who moved to Hawaii to find work in the sugar cane industry.
The book also is about a country I know nothing about. Gail Tsukiyama gives the reader an interesting look at the class struggles in Hawaii and the way Hawaiians were looked upon by other U.S. States. There’s also some sections about Hawaiian mythology such as the goddess Pele, which I liked as well (again my limited knowledge on this only extends to Moana so this was much needed)
The Color of Air is a well crafted story, which packs an emotional punch, there’s dashes of folklore and, for me, provided some information about a culture that I’ve never read about before.
Like this? try this : Tin Man – Sarah Winman (same type of emotional resonance)
The Bobsphere 