Song of the Exile

Written by Kiana Davenport

Narrated by Cristine McMurdo-Wallis

This beautiful and haunting novel bares the soul of a Hawaiian-American family during World War II. As you share in the Meahuna family's misfortunes and triumphs, a sense of intense intimacy evolves. Cristine McMurdo-Wallis lets you savor the family members' remarkable, heartwrenching stories as they are revealed piece by piece in language rich with sensuous detail.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781436146593

Kiana Davenport

Kiana Davenport is the author of the best-selling novels House of Many Gods, Song of the Exile, and Shark Dialogues, and two story collections, House of Skin and Cannibal Nights. A Native Hawaiian, her novels and stories have won numerous awards and have been translated into twenty languages.

Reviews for Song of the Exile

[librolindsay · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Oof...I did like the focus on some lesser-known history, but so much of this book revolved around women reliant upon men or having little to do apart from the men in their lives. There were also a few points of homophobia that didn't sit well even in spite of the context.

I am also split on the audio. For a white woman, the reader Gabrielle de Cuir does an OK job with the Hawaiian and pidgin, but the production quality is pretty shaky and there are reeeeeally corny and distracting music patches throughout.

[smooody106 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I feel like this is an underground book. Didn't get enough PR I just happened to stumble upon it and I'm glad I did. I love books that are based in Hawaii now. SO magical.

[carolynschroeder · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those wildly unique books that shows you a part of the world you never knew existed. Primarily about the lives of a couple of Hawaiian families before, during and after WWII, there is also a plot line involving the "comfort women," i.e., Asian, Hawaiian and European women who were imprisoned by the Japanese and taken to "camps" to be forced into prostitution for the soldiers. The author wrote this book from stories of the women who survived. So this is a very sad book, but also lyrical and beautiful in many spots. There are many viewpoints of love and loss (family, lovers, partners) and how war and race divides so many people. It is also a look at the lost Hawaii (land, culture, myth, stories, music, people), which basically fell as the islands moved from territory to state. There is also a strong storyline about the birth, growth and a kind of death of jazz, as one character, Keo, travels (to New Orleans, New York City, Paris and Shanghai) during the war to play his trumpet. I learned an immense amount and am thankful for the experience. The writing is, for the most part, good, at times great, but it does drag and wander in spots. Also, there are some plot tie-ins that are absurdly far-fetched and kind of Hollywood, so I think it suffered there, especially at the end. But overall, I recommend this novel as a unique and beautiful reading experience. I especially recommended it for anyone with an interest in Hawaiian history and/or the comfort women of WWII.