The Color of Air by Gail TsukiyamaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The setting is the small coastal town of Hilu on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1935. The Mauna Loa volcano has just started erupting again, slowing spreading lava towards the town 40 miles away. The book focuses on the very close-knit Japanese American community in Hilu and in the neighboring sugar plantation -- shop keepers, fishermen, and cutters or workers on the sugar plantation. They treat each other like family because they are one very large supportive family group.
The story is told from multiple points of view: Koji is a former cutter and now runs the sugar train on the plantation, Daniel is the young doctor who has just returned from medical school and residency in Chicago, and Mariko is Daniel's single mother who worked very hard to send him to medical school. The story takes place over a six-week period from November 1935 through January 1936, but also includes flashbacks by various individuals to the early 1900s.
This is the second book that I've read by Gail Tsukiyama. I fell in love with her writing in Samurai's Garden, and it happened again when reading this book. Once again I became immersed in her story, experiencing the place and time of the book, learning about the sugar plantation, the food and customs of the Japanese Americans living in Hawaii, and feeling the heat and humidity of Hilu. Highly recommended!
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