Literary Tourism: Hawaii Archives

Unfamiliar Fishes

by Sarah Vowell

An irreverent take on the history of Hawai’i the publisher describes as "examining the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn." Only Sarah Vowell can take whaling, royalty, missionaries, con men, sugar barons, imperialism, US presidents, and a coup and combine them to this wry and witty effect.

This Is Paradise: Stories

by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Vacation, even a literary one, is the perfect time to indulge in short stories. This Is Paradise captures Hawai’i in this collection of six stories set across the islands. Most tourists only visit Oahu or Maui, but Kahakauwila captures what’s underneath the touristy beaches and well-traveled paths, the place Hawaiians call home. Don’t miss "Thirty-Nine Rules for Making a Hawaiian Funeral Into a Drinking Game.”

The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory

by Julie Checkoway

Olympic sports stories often make for great drama, and this one is no exception. In one field on the island of Maui, poverty-stricken parents work a sugar plantation while their children train in a nearby irrigation ditch to become Olympic athletes. With no proper pool, equipment, nutrition, and a teacher who could barely swim as their coach, the swim club managed to outrace champion athletes, breaking records and making headlines along the way.

Radar Girls

by Sara Ackerman

Sara Ackerman is the queen of Hawaiian historical fiction. Born and raised in Hawaii, Ackerman’s novels were mentioned by just about everyone when we asked what to read when visiting there. Radar Girls is arguably the best of the bunch. It opens on a date that lives in infamy, then follows a story inspired by true events when the Women’s Air Raid Defense sent women pilots into a war zone for the first time. There’s war, love, pioneering heroines, everything you’d expect in WWII-era historical fiction.

Song of the Exile

by Kiana Davenport

From the publisher: "In this epic, original novel in which Hawaii's fierce, sweeping past springs to life, Kiana Davenport draws upon the remarkable stories of her people to create a timeless, passionate tale of love and survival, tragedy and triumph, survival and transcendence. In spellbinding, sensual prose, Song of the Exile follows the fortunes of the Meahuna family—and the odyssey of one resilient man searching for his soul mate after she is torn from his side by the forces of war. From the turbulent years of World War II through Hawaii's complex journey to statehood, this mesmerizing story presents a cast of richly imagined characters who rise up magnificent and forceful, redeemed by the spiritual power and the awesome beauty of their islands."

Mark Twain’s Letters from Hawaii

by Mark Twain

Before Mark Twain was Mark Twain, he traveled to Hawai’i on assignment and wrote letters in his trademark style, remarking on the “jolly time” Live vicariously through his one-week-turned-five in the Rainbow State before it was a state.

The Lion in the Lei Shop (Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust Rediscoveries)

by Kaye Starbird

Narrated in two alternating voices, mother and daughter remember the events following the air raid at Pearl Harbor. Experiencing history through the lens of the families being evacuated from Hawaii, The Lion in the Lei Shop fills out each narrator's memory, even as they sometimes contradict the other.

Night Fisher

by R. Kikuo Johnson

This graphic novel captures an adolescence in Hawai’i with stark black and white images which are somehow far from what you’d expect in a novel set there. Yet it captures the true experience of life lived on a tropical island. The publisher calls this a “a mature depiction of immature lives.” As you might expect from a coming-of-age novel, it’s moody, knotty, grisly. Content warnings apply for crime and drug use.

Moloka’i: A Novel

by Alan Brennert

Alan Brennert has written multiple times about Hawaii's past, especially the little-known parts of its history. Readers and fans rave about Brennert's historical fiction. This one has 4.5 stars on BOTH Amazon and Goodreads.

To Paradise

by Hanya Yanigahara

From the author of A Little Life, this alternate-history novel spans Hawai’i and New York City, imagining what the world would look like 100 years apart at each jump, in 1893, 1993, and 2093. It spans time, geographical distance, but most importantly wealth and poverty, weakness and might, love and loneliness. At 720 pages, there’s plenty of space to explore all these issues and more. And it’s the perfect chunky novel to tuck in a vacation bag.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors

by Kawai Strong Washburn

Everyone is raving about this, from the New York Times to Tommy Orange to the friend that just texted me last week telling me I had to read it. From the publisher: "In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water, everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends. Nainoa's family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient Hawaiian gods—a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities. But as time passes, this supposed divine favor begins to drive the family apart."

Cook Real Hawai’i

by Sheldon Simeon

Whether you're planning a trip to the islands, or just the kitchen, Sheldon Simeon tells the story of Hawai’i through food. These recipes are uncomplicated and authentic, celebrating the mash of flavors and cultures that Hawaiian food represents. But even if you’re not planning to whip up some ono pupu (delicious snacks), the photography is beautiful and the story of Hawai’i as told through food will transport you. Don’t miss the cauliflower katsu, hurricane popcorn, and haupai with passion fruit curd.

Facing the Mountain: An Inspiring Story of Japanese American Patriots in World War II

by Daniel James Brown

From the publisher: "From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat, a gripping World War II saga of patriotism and resistance, focusing on four Japanese American men and their families, and the contributions and sacrifices that they made for the sake of the nation. In the days and months after Pearl Harbor, the lives of Japanese Americans across the continent and Hawaii were changed forever. In this unforgettable chronicle of war-time America and the battlefields of Europe, Daniel James Brown portrays the journey of Rudy Tokiwa, Fred Shiosaki, and Kats Miho, who volunteered for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and were deployed to France, Germany, and Italy, where they were asked to do the near impossible. Brown also tells the story of these soldiers' parents, immigrants who were forced to submit to life in concentration camps on U.S. soil. Woven throughout is the chronicle of Gordon Hirabayashi, one of a cadre of patriotic resisters who stood up against their government in defense of their own rights. Whether fighting on battlefields or in courtrooms, these were Americans under unprecedented strain, doing what Americans do best—striving, resisting, pushing back, rising up, standing on principle, laying down their lives, and enduring."

AWOL at Ala Moana (Maile Spencer Honolulu Tour Guide Mysteries Book 1)

by Kay Hadashi

A great cozy mystery to tuck in your vacation bag. You’ll tour the island with Maile Spencer, literally. She’s a tour guide for her brother’s company, so you’ll pick up tips and facts along the way as she guides her tour group, and one member, off into danger. That bright cover alone will be photo-worthy as it peeks out from your beach bag.

Hawaii’s Story

by Queen Lili'uokalani

Walk the halls of Iolani Palace with Queen Lili’uokalani, the last queen of the Hawaiian kingdom until the overthrow in 1893. She wrote this autobiography of her accession to the throne, her arrest, and trial during her imprisonment in the palace. Her appeal eventually reached President Grover Cleveland and the US Congress, but Hawai’i was formally annexed by the US the very same year this book was published. Hawai’i eventually went on to become a state in 1959, but many in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement see this as a key text documenting the overthrow of the monarchy.

Hula: A Novel

by Jasmin Iolani Hakes

Three generations of women tell their story through dance on the Big Island. One daughter dreams of proving herself by becoming Miss Aloha Hula, but the harder she tries, the more things fall apart. Secrets erupt and the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement is explored through the lens of one fractured family.

The Descendants

by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Everyone says if you’ve only seen the movie starring George Clooney, you’re missing out on this complex novel showing the darker side of paradise. People have problems in Hawai’i too—and Matthew King sure does. His wife is in a coma and his two daughters are quickly growing out of his reach. Matthew’s ancestors have made him one of the richest men on the islands, but the “lucky we live HI” slogans won’t save him from heartbreak. The beautiful setting and elegant writing lifts this modern novel from airport fare to literary fiction.

Literary Tourism: Hawaii