The Color of Air, Gail Tsukiyama
The Color of Air, Gail Tsukiyama
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The Color of Air
A Novel

Author: Gail Tsukiyama

Narrator: Brian Nishii, Natalie Naudus

Unabridged: 9 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 07/07/2020


Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author of Women of the Silk and The Samurai's Garden comes a gorgeous and evocative historical novel about a Japanese-American family set against the backdrop of Hawai’i's sugar plantations.

Daniel Abe, a young doctor in Chicago, is finally coming back to Hawai'i. He has his own reason for returning to his childhood home, but it is not to revisit the past, unlike his Uncle Koji. Koji lives with the memories of Daniel’s mother, Mariko, the love of his life, and the scars of a life hard-lived. He can’t wait to see Daniel, who he’s always thought of as a son, but he knows the time has come to tell him the truth about his mother, and his father. But Daniel’s arrival coincides with the awakening of the Mauna Loa volcano, and its dangerous path toward their village stirs both new and long ago passions in their community.Alternating between past and present—from the day of the volcano eruption in 1935 to decades prior—The Color of Air interweaves the stories of Daniel, Koji, and Mariko to create a rich, vibrant, bittersweet chorus that celebrates their lifelong bond to one other and to their immigrant community. As Mauna Loa threatens their lives and livelihoods, it also unearths long held secrets simmering below the surface that meld past and present, revealing a path forward for them all.

About Gail Tsukiyama

Gail Tsukiyama was born in San Francisco, California, to a Chinese mother from Hong Kong and a Japanese father from Hawaii. She attended San Francisco State University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Arts Degree in English. She is the bestselling author of several novels, including Women of the Silk and The Samurai’s Garden, as well as the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize and the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award. She divides her time between El Cerrito and Napa Valley, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Angela M on July 10, 2020

4+ stars In December of 1935 the Mauna Loa volcano on the big island of Hawaii was erupting, flowing toward Hilo . On December 27th, in hopes of diverting the flow, the US Army dropped bombs in its path. Hilo was not hit with the flow, so maybe it worked or as Mama Natua, a wonderful character in th......more

Goodreads review by Bkwmlee on July 19, 2020

5 stars Gail Tsukiyama is an author I’ve been wanting to read for awhile. I’ve had a copy of her most famous work, Women of the Silk, on my bookshelf for years, but unfortunately haven’t had the chance to read it yet. Well, that might change now after reading her newest work The Color of Air,......more

Gail Tsukiyama has always been a favorite author of mine so when I saw that she had written a new book I was so excited. The Color of Air was written beautifully and was exactly what I would have expected from her. She has a way with her descriptions that bring the settings in her books to life. Her......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on April 10, 2020

Full disclosure: Gail Tsukiyama is a dear friend. This is a lovely book, filled with the kind of tenderness for which Gail's books are known. In the novel, she takes us to Hilo, Hawai'i at two periods of time: 1918 and 1935. Her historical details are terrific and her sense of place is quite amazing......more