The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama | Spoiler-Free Review

Content warnings: sexual assault, child abuse, mentions of abortion, animal death, violence

    The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama is a historical fiction novel set in 1935 in the small town of Hilo, Hawai'i. At the end of the year, Mauna Loa erupted and the lava flow threatened Hilo. For over six weeks the lava flowed, until the US air force used bombs as a way to divert the flow away from the town. The lava finally stopped flowing in the first few days of 1936. 

    Amid all of this, we follow a cast of characters, some alive and some dead, as they deal with Mauna Loa's eruption as well as a myriad of other troubles in their lives. Our main characters are Koji, an older man who works at the sugar cane plantation his parents were working at before him; Daniel, a young doctor who is returning home from a residency in Chicago; and Nori, the wife of the owner of the fish market, and Koji's oldest friend. There are other characters that have their own chapters (the book is 3rd person limited POV) but I would say these three are the ones we spend the most time with. 

    This is a very slow, meandering character study. It's actually impressive how it manages to stay slow-paced, even with the looming threat of the lava flow reaching Hilo ever present in the backs of everyone's minds. In fact, I would say that this book isn't about the volcano at all. It's simply a catalyst for old memories and secrets to scratch their way to the surface. 

    My favorite character was Koji, not only because we spent the most time with him, but really because he maintained this air about him - he had so many horrible things happen to him and around him, and he still has so much love and respect to give. And you really see the awe the people have for Hawai'i and Mauna Loa through his eyes. Above everything, he knows that Pele (the Hawai'ian goddess of fire) will do with her island what she wants. 

"From the moment Koji set foot onto the black lava rocks as a boy, he knew that the island was a living organism and they were simply guests."

    Unfortunately there was quite a bit about this book that I didn't enjoy. For one, I felt that there were too many characters, too many storylines to keep track of. In a way they all connected, and I recognize that, but I definitely feel that there were a few chapters that could have been done away with altogether and it wouldn't have affected the overall story. Some things I feel like were thrown in purely for shock factor, while others felt simply unnecessary.

    At its core, this book is about Koji and Daniel and how they each cope with their relationship. Koji was in love with Daniel's mother, Mariko, for most of his life, even after she married, had a son, and then passed away. Daniel has always felt his absent father left a rather empty place in his life, but he recognizes that Koji was there for him and his mother in a way that his father never was. This has resulted in a strained father-son adjacent relationship between the two men, and this book really explores that, and tests it. Because of this, many of the other characters we learn about feel sort of tacked on, which is especially sad since some of their stories are far more interesting than Koji and Daniel's.

    At the end of the day, I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. I'm happy that I finally read it, as it's been on my TBR for a couple of years now, but I don't see myself rereading it, or needing to purchase it. 

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Have you read The Color of Air? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments, or tweet at me @AllyEmReads.

Until next time!