Customer Reviews

House of Thieves

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I picked up this book because I went to college with a lot of middle to upper-middle class Hawaiians, and found their background kind of interesting. The nine short stories in this debut collection tend to revolve around the uneasy interactions of teenagers and adults, and the fragile emotional negotiations involved on each side. Hemmings was raised in the upper-middle class Hawaii portrayed in most of the stories, and though she studiously avoids taking an anthropological view toward the setting and its inhabitants, they stories can't help but provide a sense of some of the identity complexities of the mixed culture. It's too her credit though, that while the Hawaiian setting adds an element of interest (I probably wouldn't have picked the book up had it been set in Ohio), the stories could easily be relocated without any thematic discord.

Loneliness, loss, and frustration, are three major threads established in the opening story, "The Minor Wars", in which a father and ten-year-old daughter struggle to coexist while their wife/mother lies in a coma. In the next story, "Final Girl", it's a mother and her thirteen-year-old son who are stuck together, long abandoned by their lover/father. It's a rather acerbic story, as the mother wishes rather meanly that her son had a little more sadness to him, a little more angst -- in other words, feels more like what she feels. In the title story the missing person is a legendary delinquent older brother, who reappears as a clique of 10-13-year-olds are holding a car wash. The story does a wonderful job of showing how a seemingly thrilling adventure into the world of teenagers can rapidly turn scary.

"Island Cowboys" is about an adults, but its narrator is a somewhat immature adult. Angry about the course his life has taken, like the teenagers in the rest of the stories, he lashes unpredictably out at his family members. "Begin With An Outline" appears to be very directly autobiographical to an extent (Hemmings has said in interviews it was her first story, written in college), and features another missing parent, this time a pot-farmer father whose narrator daughter tries clumsily to reconnect with him. In "Secret Clutch" a sixteen-year-old boy is at his mother's wedding reception in the company of his beautiful nanny. As he slowly gets drunk, his confused sexual and emotional jealousy becomes more overt.

In "Ancient Weapons" a father and daughter abandoned by their wife/mother, spar with each other verbally, emotionally, and finally, physically. "Location Scouts" is about the strange needy relationship between a real estate agent mourning her fiancee's death and her teenage girl neighbor (whose mother is slowly dying). By unspoken arrangement, the girl tags along to open houses on Sundays with the older woman -- but the story tells of their attending a wake instead. "The After Party" is about a political family the day after the father has lost the race for governor. The wife/mother is absent, and the younger boy is scared of the ramifications of his father's failure. Meanwhile, the teenage daughter is sick of pretending that they have a perfect family, and confronts the father on his philandering and lies.

The stories bear the mark of having been heavily workshopped, not a word out of place, and oozing with mood. There's a somewhat ethereal quality to some of the endings which remind me (in a good way) a great deal of the two films directed by Sophia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation). Clearly, the book will be of interest to those interested in how teenagers and adults relate to one another, especially in times of loss or stress. The one other item of note is that teen sexuality is another major running theme, to a certain degree incest. There is a direct reference in one story, and there are undertones of it others, ranging from subtle to overt, and it makes for somewhat uneasy material. An interesting debut, I look forward to her forthcoming novel about Vail and how the ski industry affects small towns.

Kaui Hart Hemmings is a maestro of the poetic metaphor. I was thrilled to see House of Thieves after having read some of these great stories in literary magazines over the past few years. When I say she writes poetically, don't expect a drop of sentimentality. It's more in the `bon mot' sense that her prose cleverly articulates feelings and thoughts you might have assumed to be inexpressible.

These stories all take place in Hawaii, but not the Hawaii that you think you know(unless you are Hawaiian). This isn't tourists drinking Mai-Tai's or `exhaling;' it's people in their complicated lives written about intimately without affect. The author writes convincingly from the point of view of a variety of characters and each story creates its unique, entirely-human microuniverse.

Although it is almost always disingenuous to compare writers, it might still be edifying to give you a taste of what kind of ingredients you can expect to find in House of Thieves: Start with a dose of Russell Banks (circa Rule of the Bone), add an acerbic dash of Salinger, a touch of seductive glamour ala Fitzgerald, and perhaps a sardonic hint of pre-fall Winona Ryder in "Heathers."

After all the high-(and low-)fallutin' associations, I should just cut to the chase. This stuff is real. It pulls you in. Also, it made me laugh... a lot.

I usually don't read short stories, but my girlfriend made me read House of Thieves and this collection was thrilling, entertaining and hilarious. Hemmings knows how to tell a good story and her writing is male, woman, and angst-ridden-teen-friendly.

These stories work together to produce an excellent thematic piece. Hawaii has a way of popping into your head with pictures of beaches, girls in grass skirts and gorgeous scenery. What this book does is introduce some reality - and make you laugh.

House of Thieves is a nine story collection, all set in Hawaii primarily amongst upper-middle to upper class families. In Hawaii, the most important social unit is that of the `ohana, or family, and each of these stories highlights the divisive side of relationships between people in their respective `ohana. Feelings of isolation, frustration, resentment, loss, dishonesty and even hatred run through the pages of each of Hemmings' first-person narratives.

In "Minor Wars," a father reexamines his relationship with his daughter as his wife, her mother, lays dormant in a terminal coma. "Final Girls" continues with the parent/child dynamic as Emma, a descendant of one of the first missionary families, struggles with slowly being isolated from her son by his skin, his sex. "House of Thieves" tells of a group of teenage girls who "hitchhike around the island looking for surf and stuff to egg." This time the narrator is a 12-year old girl named Kora who watches as the family drama between her friend, Wendy, and Wendy's brother unfolds. As things go from romantic to exciting to dangerous, Kora reflects on how she never wants the adventure to end. The sibling conflict follows through in "Island Cowboys," a story of deep resentment in which you hear the uncomfortable thoughts of an adult brother who feels he sacrificed his desires to take care of the family as he justifies a slow, simmering hatred for the brother who left and now leads an idyllic life. The final revenge is both offensive and bittersweet. This is just a sampling of the first few stories in a collection that feels both provocative and familiar.

"House of Thieves," we are told, is a literal translation in Hawaiian of Hale'iwa, the town which Kora idealizes as "the cool capital of the world." But it also serves as a recognizable theme sewn throughout the fabric of each short story. In the title story, an antagonistic brother literally steals from his wealthy parents, including expensive Hawaiian artifacts that they may have "stolen" themselves. In "Ancient Weapons," Mele, the daughter of Max, calls her father a "Thief" in the climax of an argument. He holds on to the ancient Hawaiian artifacts of his estranged wife--a symbolic thievery that suggests his own perceived thievery of his daughter. There is a cultural divide present between the Hawaiian and Caucasian, the local and the haole, the wealthy and the poor that manifests in the minds of many a narration, most often as a result of estranged mixed marriages or awkward exchanges. Very true to many in Hawaii, this feeling of a thievery of culture, land and identity exists--with multiple sides fighting each other in hopes of finding a way to coexist. Yet this thread in the book is weaved in such a way that Hemmings isn't necessarily taking a side--but acknowledging that such a discord creates tension amidst the harmony of such a delicate balance.

Hemmings writes her stories with a tight narration, carefully choosing her words, stinging when she needs to and pulling back before the pain overwhelms. I found most of the stories easy to read and engaging, and in many cases consider them a different kind of escape than the usual flights into fantasy. Instead of losing myself in a world of fantastic discovery, I found myself perversely enjoying entering into the thoughts of these characters and enduring the often awkward and frustrating attempts to connect in their stressed associations. But Hemmings is careful not to delve too deeply into introspection--as most of the thoughts are formulated as a result of constant interactions with others. The only short story that deviates the most from this is "Begin With An Outline," which also happened to be the story I felt was the weakest amongst a strong compilation.

To be blunt and a bit crass, if you enjoy short stories that deal with the dysfunctional relationships involved between family then I highly recommend House of Thieves. These are highly voyeuristic tales--there were many times when I silently gasped to myself at some of the thoughts people would have, yet found myself relating to the often quick pangs of guilt, but not regret, associated with these feelings. Another great strength of Hemmings is her sense of humor, which fits well in this style of book and is seamlessly injected into the story, providing a realistic foil to the many heavy, uncomfortable moments. Without her quick, sardonic wit I could not enjoy these stories as much as I did, as it would lack a sense of realism. Humor is often our greatest defense in times of duress, and Hemmings uses this wisely in her work. Most of the stories end on a bittersweet, yet strangely positive note and continue to resonate in your mind long after you've finished. "Sometimes my prose is very effective," decrees an overly confident teenager in the title tale. Just like our author, these carefully crafted words hit home, hit hard and hit effectively.

This collection of short fiction features a variety of dysfunctional family relationships in a tropical setting. All of the action takes place in Hawaii and the Island flora and fauna are nicely incorperated into the stories giving a real sense of place for the fully drawn charactors at the heart of each piece. "Blended" families are often a theme as well as the collateral damage done by divorce.The Author always has a point to make but leads the reader to it without overstatement. This is worth reading because it flows more seamlessly than other collections currently billed as "novels" because the stories are all inter-related.

What I have read in these nine shorts is something I have not read in the reviews, these dysfunctional blogs are so revealing in one of the most finest and reader stabbing messages. What that means is these stories offer solutions to dysfunctional families in piercing detail. What a message for families anywhere!

Yes it is all in Hawaii, and Ive been there several times as that is where my heart is, Kaui knows how to set the scene so wonderfully without distraction of the theme. Beautifully written, intelligently conveyed with some hopeful intent I believe, to the reader that is. What drama and gasping thoughts, but what an education! Best writing and format to boot.

This is one of the most recommnded books on my part as it is so real, and another here for some others...Predator Down

I'm an avid reader of short fiction. In House of Thieves I found a genuine story cycle, in fact that rare story cycle in which each story enhances, mirrors and builds on the power, the humor and the involvement of those that have come before and after. I'm very pleased with this collection.