So Honolulu, the novel, is partly about this collision of image and reality.and how, in fact, the reality was actually far richer and more captivating. Because at the same time this romantic, glamorous image of paradise was being exported to the American public, many Native Hawaiians and immigrants to Hawai’i labored on plantations for low wages or lived in poverty in Honolulu tenements. Q: But Honolulu also presents a very different picture of Hawai’i in those “glamour” days.Ī: Yes, there were almost two Honolulus existing alongside one another-or more accurately, interwoven, like the Korean patchwork quilts I write about in the book. I found myself wanting to tell a story against that romantic backdrop. These were the years when Hawai’i made its deepest impression on the American consciousness: the years of Matson liners, the China Clipper, Hollywood celebrities vacationing in Honolulu, and the Hawai’i Calls radio show that broadcasted popular hapa-haole music to the mainland. Though I read about it in my research for Moloka’i, it was a time period I couldn’t really explore in depth in that book, since my main characters were held in isolation at Kalaupapa. One of the most colorful periods of modern Hawaiian history was the so-called “glamour days” of the 1920s and 30s. Q: Did the idea for Honolulu come out of your research for your previous book, Moloka’i ?Ī: In a way.

Honolulu alan brennert book review