The Color of Air

A friend lent me this book, The Color of Air, by Gail Tsukiyama. It takes place in Hawaii in 1935 during an eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano. I felt I knew these characters, like I had spent a morning with them, conversing over coffee. They were mostly members of the Japanese immigrant community who came to Hawaii to work in the sugar plantations, and the beauty of the island and their close-knit community comes through on every page. It’s mainly an uplifting book, with a happy, comforting feel throughout, in the rhythms of the community’s way of life, their deep connections to their past and to each other. A lovely book.