Aloha, Mozart

Aloha, Mozart really got under my skin. It is partly because of the knowing narrative voice, partly the quiet passion and intensity of the story, partly the sensuality with which Williams evokes place. I came away feeling it was one of those novels that took me to places I'd never been, but recognized completely.



Hawaiian Maile Manoa, born into a large impoverished family, is set apart by a fierce independence and stunning voice. Her quest for a life in music lures her from her beloved family and island paradise, to the rarefied and competitive world of opera in Salzburg, Austria. It is the 1960's and Austria, still licking its wounds from World War II, now faces the threat of Soviet aggression. As Maile begins to succeed in this strange, straight-laced, Caucasian world, the complexities of politics, love, and ambition converge, and the book asks us to consider what, in the end, really matters.



Suffused from beginning to end with a remarkable aural awareness, the only thing this wonderful novel lacks is a soundtrack.