Honolulu

October 20, 2008
Brennert's mostly successful follow-up to his book club phenomenon, Moloka'i
, chronicles the lives of Asian immigrants in and around Hawaii's early 20th-century glamour days. As the tale begins, readers meet young Regret, whose name speaks volumes of her value in turn-of-the-20th-century Korea. Emboldened by her desire to be educated, Regret commits herself as a mail-order bride to a prosperous man in Hawaii, where girls are allowed to attend school. But when she arrives, she finds her new husband is a callous plantation worker with drinking and gambling problems. Soon, Regret (now known as Jin) and her fellow picture brides must discover their own ways to prosper in America and find that camaraderie and faith in themselves goes a long way. Brennert takes perhaps too much care in creating an encyclopedic portrait of Hawaii in the early 1900s, festooning the central narrative with trivia and cultural minutiae by the boatload. Luckily, Jin's story should be strong enough to pull readers through the clutter.

January 1, 2009
Brennert 's second novel (Moloka 'i, 2003) explores Hawaii 's "golden age " through the eyes of Korean immigrants.

In turn-of-the-century Korea, a young woman named Regret is bound to a veiled, subservient life by strict Confucian dogma. In a desire to escape her repressive society and gain an education, Regret signs up as a picture bride and is shipped off to Hawaii, where she finds herself hastily wed to Mr. Noh, a sugar-cane plantation worker with drinking and gambling problems. When Noh 's actions become more than she can bear, Regret (now known as Jin) flees to Honolulu and begins a new life. Her tenacity and resourcefulness, coupled with the friendships she forms with her fellow Korean picture brides and new acquaintances, are the backbone of her survival. The struggles Jin and her fellow Koreans face —discrimination, poverty, abuse —are an emotional illustration of the seedy underside of the group of islands most people view as paradise. Brennert has an encyclopedic knowledge of Hawaiian history, which, while impressive, proves unfortunate when parts of the book begin to read like an encyclopedia. While the cultural tidbits and historical references are interesting, they are not blended seamlessly into the narrative. Luckily, Jin is an admirable character and an apt storyteller, and the arc of her life provides a fascinating look at an often untold and decidedly unglamorous side of 20th-century Hawaii. It 's intriguing and visceral enough to pull readers through the sandstorm of factual information. As Jin 's new family multiplies, she finds closure with relatives still living in Korea and, in a sentimental turn, discovers she has lived the American Dream.

An overly informative but poignant, colorful story.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from January 15, 2009
This sweeping, epic novel follows Jin from her homeland of Korea to a new life on the blossoming Hawaiian Islands. The year is 1914, and Jin is a "picture bride," a sort of mail-order bride to a Korean man living in Hawaii whom she has never met. Not the wealthy husband she was promised, he is a poor laborer who treats her cruelly. Escaping her abusive husband, Jin must make her way in Honolulu, eventually finding love and stability. But as the growth of Hawaii results in racial tension and violence, Jin and her family struggle to adjust. Seeing life through Jin's eyes is a pleasure as she changes from a farm-bound, repressed immigrant girl to an outgoing, educated member of Hawaiian society. Brennert ("Moloka'i") weaves the true stories of early Hawaii into his fictional tale, and many of the captivating people Jin encounters are real. His depiction of the effects of the Depression is startling. Let's hope Brennert follows up this second novel with a third and continues to capture this intriguing and little-explored segment of American history in beautifully told stories. Recommended for public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 11/15/08.]Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2009
Virtually the only way for a young girl such as Jin to escape the poverty, isolation, and desperation of Korea in the early twentieth century was to advertise herself as a picture bride, eagerly available for marriage to a presumably young, honorable fellow countryman who had already fled to the burgeoning island paradise of Hawaii. Possessed of an insatiable desire for education and an innocent sense of adventure, Jin accepts Nohs offer, only to realize that shes traded one form of oppression for another when she suffers physical attacks from an alcoholic husband and the psychological abuse of a chauvinistic society. Spanning more than four decades, Jins plaintive yet intrepid tale of spirited courage and staunch resolve is as audacious as that of the vibrant island nation whose own polyglot heritage becomes increasingly endangered as it transitions from U.S. territory to fiftieth state. Brennerts lush tale of ambition, sacrifice, and survival is immense in its dramatic scope yet intimate in its emotive detail.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)