A review by monsterfemme
He Mele A Hilo by Ryka Aoki

5.0

pretty much cried straight through this one and don't think it was only cuz i'm gonna bleed soon. there's without a doubt an immensity of depth i'm missing partially through language (it's written in hawaiian pidgin english) & partially through my lack of knowledge about the gods of those islands and their stories. what i received from this book were pictures of some rare & sweet kinds of romance & partnership, some subtle & complex kinds of growth in community, and also a relationship to innate talent that i deeply appreciated but that also raised such immense longing in me (thus the crying), specifically relationships to dance and music.