Father of the Four Passages: A Novel [Paperback]

Lois-Ann Yamanaka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2002

From "one of the most original voices on the American literary scene" (The Atlantic Monthly) comes the powerful tale of Sonia Kurisu, a young woman who grew up troubled in working-class Hawaii and struggles to raise her young son alone. Alternating between the present and the past, Yamanaka depicts Sonia's difficult childhood, her addictions to drugs and alcohol, and her string of bad lovers. As she tries to gain control of her life, she is haunted by the ghosts of three children she never had. A work of raw energy and searing honesty, Father of the Four Passages is an extraordinary testament to the redemptive power of love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers devoted to Yamanaka's Hawaiian trilogy (Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers; Blu's Hanging; Heads by Harry) will be pleased with her fourth novel, an uncompromising story of the tenaciousness of motherly love amid the chaos of drugs and dysfunction. In urgent, virtuosic prose, Yamanaka introduces a fierce, often wayward protagonist, Sonia Kurisu, who trips back and forth from past to present in her first-person narrative, evoking her nightmarish childhood punctuated by visions of God and the devil. Her unstable mother, Grace, abandons Sonia and Sonia's older sister, Celeste, to the care of their grandmother, while their wandering, koan-spouting father's attempts at communication only further distance him from his daughters. In an attempt to escape her troublesome and troubled family, Sonia leaves Hawaii for Las Vegas, struggling to finish college and raise her son, Sonny Boy. But she can't seem to pull herself together: she is haunted by the memory of the three children she aborted in Hawaii, all of whom begin to clamor for her attention in voices and visions. When Sonny Boy is diagnosed as autistic at age two, Sonia first overdoses on drugs, then returns home to Hawaii, where her journey toward reconciliation and recovery begins. Harsher than ever in its unflinching depiction of stifled rage and twisted love, and charged with a fervid yet earthy mysticism, this is Yamanaka's most challenging work to date. Suffused with pathos, but never overwhelmed by sentiment, the novel settles itself deep into the rhythms and passions of its protagonists. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From The New Yorker

Sonia Kurisu is a young woman with a peck of troubles: a penchant for junkies, a bitchy sister, a low-life job as a lounge singer, and a young son who won't speak. Set in Hawaii and Las Vegas, Sonia's saga alternates between memories of her unhappy past and the slings and arrows of her present predicament. But this ostensibly depressing story becomes, in Yamanaka's hands, a scrappy, scathingly funny, openhearted tale of a pigheaded heroine who asks only for a glimmer of grace, and––once in a while, through dint of hard work––gets it.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Picador; 1St Edition edition (January 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031242048X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312420482
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #746,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Mothers & Children

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Shining Star, May 24, 2001

By 

Kenny Sakamoto (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Father of the Four Passages: A Novel (Hardcover)

Many people who read this book will miss and not appreciate the stylistic and artistic virtues of the book. It is not like a typical Yamanaka book that is full of comedy and pidgin english. Rather, the book tells the tragic story of a confused, beaten girl who gets lost in the drug dependent dark world that many of us have seen along the fringes of our lives.

Lois-Ann truly expresses the anger and anguish that could be experienced in raising a child with challenges, or for that matter, any child. Most of us don't have what it takes to clearly articulate our deepest, most true inner thoughts openly to the public. This book captures an unfortunate reality of self-induced, attempted, and clinically performed abortions that is a part of the life experiences of some people. It is a reality that many choose not to see, as is unsafe sex.

Father of Four Passages tells a story of a life that may be foreign to many of us. It is a very difficult book to read, both emotionally and artistically. The triumph and freedom of light in the end, is like a chapter in our lives. We live in valleys and hills, but must have the bravery and stamina to climb the tops of mountains to overcome adversity and see the light.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ohhhhhhhh!, May 28, 2001

By 

MegaMegaWhiteThing! (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Father of the Four Passages: A Novel (Hardcover)

I've never experienced such a work in my entire life. The use of fervent Christianity, symbolism, paranormal experiences, and emotional instability result resonate through my emotions. The surreal images were heartbreakingly beautiful when combined with the grittiness of seedy strip bars and junkies smacking up in filthy apartments. The experiences are intensified with the parallel surroundings of oceans versus Las Vegas. At first, I sat there reading it, racked by the explicit violence, hatred, and sadness, but soon I became numbed to the beauty of Hawaii and the heartache of Sonia Kurisu. I've never read another work by Yamanaka, but after reading this book, I believe I'll go look around for more. Definately try this book.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for the faint of heart, January 31, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Father of the Four Passages: A Novel (Hardcover)

I bought this book based on the glowing review that appeared in Elle, and while I agree that the writing is excellent and the subject intriguing I found the descriptions of the child abuse and haunting voices of the aborted/murdered fetuses were really too dark and disturbing to bear. I will say that Ms. Yamanaka's ability to deftly interweave descriptions of past events and dream-like sequences into the narrative flow of the novel is extremely engaging, but I really couldn't get past the utter depth of despair and pain that all of the characters in the book seem to be immersed in. I'm not saying don't read this book, I'm saying that if you do, be prepared for a really dark and creepy ride.