Customer Reviews

Punahou Blues

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Destined to be a cult classic amongst Punahou alumni, this sweet-sour romp through childhood in paradise captures the bodaciously colorful characters and happenings that shaped life on and off-campus in the 1960-70's.

I eagerly devoured each delicious episode like a hot malasada at the carnival, and came back for more. Ono grinds, Kirby, and mahalo nui for the memories.

Punahou Blues is a great book and a joy to read. For me it is the
most important book i've read. The images are so much better than
what photos or video can do...
It reminded me of American Grafiti which asked the question
"Where were you in 62?"
Punahou Blues asks the question "Where were you in 72?"
And, oh, boy, if you are from Hawaii, you will remember!

PUNAHOU BLUES by Kirby Wright
November 27, 2005

Rating: *** ½

For those who enjoy the novels of Lois-Ann Yamanaka, PUNAHOU BLUES is recommended. Set on the island of Oahu, the story revolves around a Hawaiian born Jeffrey, older brother Ben, and their life on the island as "hapa" kids growing up in a mostly Asian community.

The novel traces Jeffrey's years from childhood to young adult, with each chapter a glimpse into his life. The reader will laugh out loud at some of his antics, as boys will be boys, especially on the islands. A scene involving grandmother's diamonds is a riot, and introduces the family to the reader.

Complete with Hawaiian/English glossary, PUNAHOU BLUES is a delightful look into the growing up years of a young boy. While this is purely fiction, it reads like a memoir, and for those who are not familiar with island living, this will be a great first glance at what it is like growing up white in an environment that caters mostly to Asians.

PUNAHOU BLUES captures the haole experience of growing up with sweet sour turbulance and malasadas kisses on Oahu. With its racially profiled truths, it expresses a longing and makes you ono for Hawaii.\\000//

Very good book that describes coming of age in a racially charged environment. Kirby Wright has written an engaging, well-thought novel that will delight his readers!

Was growing up almost-all haole in the early days of the State of Hawai'i really this hard? Was it really this good?

PUNAHOU BLUES is the best novel of Hawai`i I've read...ever. We're talking about novels here. Robert Louis Stevenson's short stories, letters and speeches by Mark Twain and memoirs by everyone from Hawaiian rulers to missionaries to early visitors don't count. That comparison would be not apples to oranges but more starfruit to kalo. What makes a novel good and even important is the writer's ability to make the lives of the characters matter to me (a reader), his ability to tell the stories of the characters compellingly and, finally, his capacity for making me reflect on my own life and experience.

By all three measures, Wright succeeds.

The "oh-no!" and "good boy!" reactions throughout this book are not only inescapable but, I suspect, quite different for different readers. Jeff's going to learn to box in order to put a bully in his place. Some readers will say, "attaboy." I say, "good grief, kid, get a grip." The thing is that almost every day in Jeff's life, as told here, is something at once ordinary and, at the same time, charged with massive significance. That is to say, we the readers are seduced by Wright. We think along with him that the day-to-day trials of a schoolboy have real importance...just as the boy himself would feel at the time.

Jeff learns to kiss and you'll have opinions about whether he learns with the right or wrong girl. He cuts class or falls in lust or says almost anything, and we either cheer him on or wish he'd thought it through better.

Until now, I have felt that there was just one story of Hawai`i that really had to eventually be made into a movie. Now, I know a second one that absolutely should catch Hollywood's attention. Or, maybe a movie isn't needed. Wright makes the picture whole and vivid in the reader's mind, and maybe that's enough.

Punahou Blues is a Coming of Age tale set in Hawaii. Its a tale of Creative Imagination that is filled with Generosity of Spirit. Jeff Gill is a character one cant help but Love. Kirby Wright shows us that not only is he a Gifted Poet , he is also a Novelist whose Uniquely Personal stories are bound to Captivate the Literary World.

This book is a Refreshing Treat , its Unique Perspective and Penetrating Insight make one Appreciate every word and every moment. We are reminded of our own childhood and every experience the children have in this book are experiences we all Share - first kiss ... Kirby Wright has woven a tale of Inspired Imagery that Refreshes ones Heart and Nourishes ones Mind.

This is a work that is Meaningful. Simple in its Beauty , it Stimulates the Appetite for more. Punahou Blues is the Human Experience explored in a Thoughtfully Crafted piece of Literature that serves as a mirror to the Self. Thank you Kirby for Living your Lifes Purpose and for Sharing your Creative Gifts.

Punahou Blues a Shining Pearl of Graceful Simplicity.

Wright has a way of penetrating the psyche of schoolboy reminiscent of Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist" and also stories from DUBLINERS. Jeff Gill's epiphany at the end of the "Punahou Carnival" chapter reminds me of Stephen D's moment when he sees the girl in the water and knows the power of his sexual attraction means he'll never become a priest. Interesting too how Wright(who is half-Irish), like Joyce, uses a religious setting(Catholic School) to create internal and external tension, illusions, and symbolism. Wright and Joyce are indeed kindred spirits.

Charming coming-of-age story set in Honolulu in the seventies. Both funny and poignant, and a great introduction to the sociology of the "locals."

Length:: 0:35 Mins

This book will give you the underbelly of the private institution that OBAMA attended in Honolulu. It's a multicultural environment at Punahou School and you can see how getting along with an ethnically diverse student body helped him establish himself as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

Wright doesn't sugar coat the school experiences of the boy narrator. There are excursions off-campus into the drug world, skirmishes between haoles (whites) and locals in a rite of passage known as Killahaole Day, and then there's the tricky matter of interracial dating. Think Holden Caulfield in CATCHER IN THE RYE, only set in Hawaii. And this teenage narrator has a bit more moxie than Holden, especially when he challenges the school bully to a fight on the golf course during the Hawaiian Open.

PUNAHOU BLUES, a Hawaiian Novel
Moloka'i Nui Ahina, Summers on the Lonely Isle
MOLOKA'I NUI AHINA, Summers on the Lonely Isle