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ashleyntpaul 's review for:
Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawai'i
by Sara Kehaulani Goo
I really, really enjoyed listening to this book. I am so glad that I did listen to it, rather than reading, as hearing the author read it was a treat. Not only that, but it was great to hear her read and pronounce all of the Hawaiian text, because while I am not TOTALLY haole at pronouncing, I am like 80% unable to figure most of the words out (LOL).
The history and culture of Hawaii is just so beautiful, rich, and full of really unique and special traditions and people. I have long loved learning about it and experiencing it, so I very much enjoyed both parts of this book: the memoir and the investigative history. I generally prefer historical nonfiction that strays from the memoir side of things, as I tend to not enjoy the author's thoughts and feelings (or anything mushy gushy blah blah). I found, however, that in this book, much of the memoir side of Goo's story shined a light on how native cultures survive today, and the tensions modern people feel when trying to embrace parts of their culture.
This also brought up some thought provoking questions for me, as a reader. First, why was Sara so focused on her Hawaiian lineage when 7/8 of her heritage were other cultures too? I think the answer to this mainly lies with her relationship with her grandma (which was beautiful and I LOVED reading all the parts about Grandma). But I still wonder if she ever felt compelled to research more of of Chinese or European background too. Second, and perhaps the one I will continue to think about for a while, is how do I, as a member of the colonizing race, reckon with that past, the present (in which members of my race, and likely I, myself, have/are contributing to the continued erasure of native culture), and the future?
Overall, this was a super enjoyable and interesting book. I learned a lot from it. My only complaints are around the repetition of aspects of the story, and just a few times that things got a bit too personal for my taste.
The history and culture of Hawaii is just so beautiful, rich, and full of really unique and special traditions and people. I have long loved learning about it and experiencing it, so I very much enjoyed both parts of this book: the memoir and the investigative history. I generally prefer historical nonfiction that strays from the memoir side of things, as I tend to not enjoy the author's thoughts and feelings (or anything mushy gushy blah blah). I found, however, that in this book, much of the memoir side of Goo's story shined a light on how native cultures survive today, and the tensions modern people feel when trying to embrace parts of their culture.
This also brought up some thought provoking questions for me, as a reader. First, why was Sara so focused on her Hawaiian lineage when 7/8 of her heritage were other cultures too? I think the answer to this mainly lies with her relationship with her grandma (which was beautiful and I LOVED reading all the parts about Grandma). But I still wonder if she ever felt compelled to research more of of Chinese or European background too. Second, and perhaps the one I will continue to think about for a while, is how do I, as a member of the colonizing race, reckon with that past, the present (in which members of my race, and likely I, myself, have/are contributing to the continued erasure of native culture), and the future?
Overall, this was a super enjoyable and interesting book. I learned a lot from it. My only complaints are around the repetition of aspects of the story, and just a few times that things got a bit too personal for my taste.