review of Honolulu

I posted a while ago that I was reading Honolulu. I finally finished it last night. Obviously it wasn't one of those books that 'you just can't put down.' So here is my review:

• The cover sucks. Don't judge a book by it's cover. For real. I don't mean the actual cover is bad (I like the cover, that's why I bought it). I mean the cover has nothing to do with the book. This book was about a life of a picture bride from korea in the late 1800s. I KNOW they didn't wear this kind of make up and did not have mascara to make their lashes like that. And they most definitely did NOT show cleavage. Haha.
• I did get a good glimpse of what life in hawaii was like during those times when America first took over Hawaii and when the japanese, chinese, koreans, filipinos were all moving to Hawaii. It was pretty interesting. I believe the author took real people's stories to write this book. In the end there is a long list of sources he used.
• The book however did not really draw me in. I wasn't 'in love' with the character named Jin. I liked reading how she overcame certain struggles in life, but she didn't intrigue me that much. I was more entertained by the descriptions of the Hawaiian scenery than the character. I wish the book went a little more in depth about the history of hawaii and korea. I wish I could have read more about what was deep down in Jin's thoughts. The way I read it, it seemed like any life of an immigrant struggling to 'make it'...which includes most of our parents who immigrated to the United States.
• The book also had 4 other characters that I wish were built up more. There were 3 other korean picture brides. The 3 of them and Jin made a 'sisterhood' that was referenced many times in the book. There was also a japanese picture bride. I was very interested in knowing more about her character, but was left with very little. I wanted to know about each of thier lives. But the book was only in Jin's perspective, and it just left me wanting more.
• the beginning of the book was good. I was waiting for it to get REALLY good, but it never did.

This is a very casual read. It took me weeks to finish it. If you want to read it, I have it. Don't buy it.

Rating=GAP/LEVI's (Kind of like 2 1/2 stars)