Friday 56 & #BookBeginnings: This is Paradise

For Book Beginnings:

Midmorning the lifeguards fan across the beach and push signposts into the sand. The same picture is on all of them: a stick figure, its arms aloft, its circle head drowning in a set of triangle waves. CAUTION, the signs reads. DANGEROUS UNDERTOW. 

- first paragraph of the first short story This is Paradise

For Friday 56:

In the yellow of the tent I saw brown smears on his forearms where he had forgotten to wash off his bird's blood. "I neva lost when yoa papa was living," he told me. 

- p. 56 (ARC, page may change)

I absolutely fell in love with this collection of short stories! If you're ready for some really honest, even painful short stories about self-identity and relationships, this is a must read. You can read my review or you try for the giveaway (1 paperback, US only)!

Synopsis: In a stunning collection that announces the arrival of an incredible talent, Kristiana Kahakauwila travels the islands of Hawai'i, making the fabled place her own. Exploring the deep tensions between local and tourist, tradition and expectation, façade and authentic self, This Is Paradise provides an unforgettable portrait of life as it’s truly being lived on Maui, Oahu, Kaua'i and the Big Island.

This Is Paradise: Stories by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Book Depository