From the award-winning author of Hula, a dazzling saga about the generations of women tasked with protecting the history and place that made them.
A young woman lies comatose in a hospital, watched by her estranged grandmother. Mystery surrounds the woman’s fall—did she jump off the cliff, or was she swept away by a wave? Her grandmother suspects it is linked to the pohaku, an ancient stone that their family was tasked with protecting. In this novel spanning generations across Hawai`i and California, it soon becomes clear that the pohaku’s story must survive if there is to be any hope of the family’s reconciliation with their home, with nature, and with each other. Reminiscent of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko, and Tommy Orange’s There, There, The Pohaku is an immersive and bold novel about the history, perseverance, and resilience of the Hawaiian people.
About the author: Jasmin Iolani Hakes was born and raised in Hilo, Hawai'i. She is the author of the novel Hula, and her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee. She is the recipient of the Best Fiction award from the Southern California Writers Conference, a Squaw Valley LoJo Foundation Scholarship, a Writing by Writers Emerging Voices fellowship, and a Hedgebrook residency. She worked throughout college as a professional luau dancer.