Middle Son

by Deborah Iida

Book Overview

When Spencer Fujii's grandparents arrived in Hawaii at the turn of the century, they brought Japanese customs with them. Five decades later, those traditional expectations still shape the lives of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 042516151X
• ISBN13: 9780425161517
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.1" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

A Brilliant Cultural Portrait

When I told a couple of my friends that I was in the mood for a good story but had a limited amount of free time in which to read it, they both highly recommended Deborah Iida's Middle Son. After hearing them gush about the poignancy of the characters' interactions, the vibrant descriptions of the Maui setting, and the authenticity of the dialect, I picked up the book and dove in. They were accurate on all accounts. As Spencer tries to confront the painful faces of his childhood, we are allowed to share in his struggle for acceptance and peace within his memories. Iida's tale is both haunting and moving, and Spencer's simple, honest questions resonated with me long after I'd finished the last sentence. Aside from the satisfaction that comes from a skillfully-told family saga, the book's greatest triumph is its vivid portrayal of Japanese-Hawaiian culture. As someone with little to no exposure to this portion of our country's heritage, I relished the lush island imagery, the rich Buddhist influences, and the engaging regional tongue. Spencer captures the dialogue's concise eloquence when he remarks that his Caucasian friend uses "many words for a short idea" (71). Overall, I enthusiastically add my praise to that of my friends. Middle Son is a touching account of one man's reconciliation with his past, and the Hawaiian narrator presents a voice too often overlooked in American literature.

One of the best accounts of life on a Maui Plantation

I was born and raised on Maui, though now I live on another island. I have a sister who hardly reads, yet this is the *only* book she will read. And she reads it constantly. My entire family has read it at least once, though some have read it more than that. When people ask why we love this book so much, it's because in its own way it symbolizes family strength and aloha in a way that is easy to relate to. From the moment I picked up this book, I knew it was something special. The writer describes Maui the way it used to be, faithfully paying attention to the beauty of details and the emotions it inspires. My childhood memories came to life through her writing. My grandparents would talk about their days on the plantation, and reading the book gave me a sense of nostalgia.Certainly, this is not a history book. It reads like a wonderfully friendly novel, with enough detail to make the reader feel as if they are there amidst the cane fields and the tiny housings. The characters grow and change in subtle ways. I felt like I was learning with them. Learning to get beyond prejudice and stereotypes, to become something more than expected.

Maui Reads Middle Son

The Maui libraries as well as the Center of the Book, Maui, have chosen Deborah Iida's lyrical novel, Middle Son, for all of Maui to read and discuss during April. What a pleasure it is to have a new excuse to revisit this poignant story! I have read it three times already and each time I discover a deeper layer of satisfaction. The first time I read it, I had just moved here and it helped introduce me to local pidgin and to gain a deeper understanding of things Japanese-Hawaiian which I learned is different from Native Hawaiian, which is different from Haole-Hawaiian, Chinese-Hawaiian, Portugeuse-Hawaiian, Korean-Hawaiian, and etc! To live Hawaii is to live multiculturally. One kind of pidgin is different from all other kinds. Which adds to the uniqueness of Maui. Ms. Iida's characters remain with you long after the book is returned to the shelf. Every time I pass a cane field, I think of the workers' lives in the camps; of Mariko undressing baby William and looking at him for the last moment he belongs to her; of cutting her hair; of Spencer, William and Taizo at the reservoir, the last moment of their childhoods, simply kids on the verge of committing an adult mistake. This book is a modern classic which we on Maui are lucky to have to share with the world.

A wonderful book filled with morals

Middle son is a story that many adolescents can relate to emotionally and mentally, like myself. I can relate to some of the tragedy that occur during Spencer Fujii's childhood as he was growing up; experiencing the agonizing pain of losing a loved one and the expectations he had to carry on with his older brother, Taizo, died. Though the story was dismal and heart wrenching, it allows me to dwell into the past and come to the realization that I should never take anything for granted. Not only did I learn something from reading this story; I also enjoyed it because the plot was very suspenseful.

A Sensual, Profound Multicultural Perspective

Ms. Iida captures in a literary "haku" (Hawaiian word for a complementary/contrasting interweaving of different elements, cultural in this case) of much impact. Superficially, Spencer's life seems nearly simple. As the story unfolds, we find many layers of complexity, some as subtle as Japanese courtesies, some as gruff and direct as Father Fujii's scoldings. I am a native of Maui now living and working on the East Coast. I find that Ms. Iida was able to convey the universal power of a happy as well as painful past and how it manages to shape the future. Was delighted w/ her Maui descriptions and settings. Note: Na mea 'ono pua'a (a.k.a., manapua) from Honolulu being the best still seems to hold true. My grandparents and parents were of the former sugar industry's Filipino Camps years ago before my parents entered their military life and later one of many years of civil service to the Federal government. When reading of Spencer's watching cane fires through his window as part of the camp life's natural cycle, I found myself watching through that same window, too. Ms. Iida has produced a gem not only for Hawaiian Islanders, but for all those who seek a glimpse into one of many perspectives of former island life, the kind which truly makes it possible for those like me to understand further one of several histories which I can call my own.