I also loved the fact that the writing was heavy with pidgin, for it really sounded like I was listening to a local speak (but then again, given the fact that Aoki is from Hawaii, that would make sense).

By having the characters mingle and help each other out, the journey of going from one place and ending at another became a shared experience. Aoki has written such a unique story, with just as unique characters, who melded into each others’ stories naturally, without it becoming a train wreck in process. Just from the first 50 pages alone, I had a feeling that I was in for something special. Together with conversations in pidgin, plate lunches, meditations on what it means to be Hawaiian, and magical occurrences, “He Mele A Hilo” is surely one of the best books I’ve read in a while. These characters, as well as others, make up the community of Hilo. Kam) Schulman, formerly Mel Schulman, who also just moved to Hawaii from the mainland, who’s in search of something he can’t quite identify, but hopes that joining the local band Ku’uipos might widen his scope. We meet Steve and Lisa Yates, a wealthy couple new to the community who actually contribute a lot in ways that go beyond just generous donations. We get to know Noelani Choi, a hula instructor who wants to have her halau to do a show about the life of Jesus Christ, despite it sounding completely crazy to others. We are introduced to characters like Nona Watanabe a woman who likes dancing hula and making the best-tasting chicken, and yet finds herself at odds when it comes to her widowed boyfriend, Harry. Set on the Big Island of Hawai’i in the small community of Hilo, the novel follows a number of characters as they make their ways in life, by means of identity searches, motivations, beliefs, and, of course, hula.

Therefore, when I came across Ryka Aoki’s “He Mele A Hilo” as someone’s favorite magical realist novel for 2015, I knew immediately that this was a book I knew I had to read. The advantage of following blogs that are all about reading is that they unofficially serve as recommendation sources for books that you have yet to read.

He Mele A Hilo by Ryka Aoki