Da Word [Paperback]

Lee A. Tonouchi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2001

Fiction. Asian American Studies. Writing entirely what people in Hawai`i refer to as Pidgin, Lee A. Tonouchi takes the language largely associated with Hawai`i's underprivileged youth and attempts to legitimize it in literature. His high-performance readings of his humorous fiction pieces have won Tonouchi a large underground following and the local media has given him the notorious nickname, Da Pidgin Guerrilla for his work in starting up his own Pidgin-centered literary magazine, Hybolics. Tonouchi was named Best New Face in the field of literature by HONOLULU Magazine and the It writer by The Honolulu Advertiser, the state's biggest daily.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lee A. Tonouchi is a pidgin author and activist. He is da author of da short story collection DA WORD from Bamboo Ridge Press, co-editor of Hybolics, and editor of da in-progress community Pidgin dictionary projeck Da Kine Dictionary from Bess Press .

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Bamboo Ridge Press; 1st edition (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0910043612
• ISBN-13: 978-0910043618
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pidgin to da max ..., June 16, 2001

By 

Bill Taylor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Da Word (Paperback)

Here's another great book of short stories written entirely in pidgin. Don't be intimidated by pidgin - once you get the hang of it after reading the first couple of stories, you will be zipping right along (after which you can go back and read the first couple over again)! Winner of an Academy of American Poets award (among others), Tonouchi is also the "Sales and Marketing Guy" at the well-respected Bamboo Press as well as of his own magazine "Hybolics." Tonouchi has been pushing pidgin "to da max" for a while now. When asked about pidgin being a block to individual success in modern Hawai`i, he gleefully points out that he wrote his college papers in it (yes, he graduated), and filled out his employment applications for both the Bamboo Ridge Press and for an instructor position at Kapiolani Community College in it (yes, he got both jobs). He thoroughly enjoys his role as "Da Pidgin Guerilla."

Wat? You wan me stay tell you `bout da book? Kay den. It's great! There are 13 different short stories, some of which form a series and some don't. The subjects are the kinds of things that most all of us went through in high school or college. You know - hangin` out with the gang, trying to get the courage up to ask a girl to dance, dealing with your girlfriend going somewhere else (than where you were) for the summer, and da kine. Tonouchi gets out some really great lines in each story. Often, if he uses a pidgin word that you might not understand, he quickly uses it again in another context to give you more clues. One of the funniest stories involves a girlfriend who is a Star Trek nut. So... Randall and Lea go to da Star Trek convention, eh. An den Randall says, "I neva know had da kine Oriental Vulcans! I guess so cuz on Voyager get da Popolo [Black] Vulcan now, so guess nowdays anybody can be one Vulcan." And on and on and on. It's great fun.

There is some social commentary woven into "da word," but it's very skillfully done and usually humorous. After all, pidgin didn't exactly come out of the boardrooms in Honolulu, now did it? So, dat boddah you? Too bad! Jus keeding, brah - no want beef. This is definitely and "inside job" - written by a hip author who is fully a part of the culture of which he speaks. Good stuffs!

5.0 out of 5 stars da word is great, July 30, 2006

By 

Tim Daldrup "tim in tukeson" (Tucson Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Da Word (Paperback)

It took me a while to get used to the pidgin style, but then the stories moved liked butter. The pidgin is so intimate and friendly. The stories were from the heart and infused with humor and soul. I recommend this book to everyone. Just be patient if you don't know pidgin. It's worth the time. Go Lee! Free Hawaii!