Ana Kapakahi is left to the care of her sprawling storybook family as a child, when her mother leaves Hawaii to find a better life in Los Angeles. Planted in Ana’s soul when she’s barely a red-mud-footed toddler in the hills of Nanakuli, the seed of her mother’s rejection grows into pride and ambition that drive Ana to become the first college graduate in her family, a role-model to uncles maimed by every American war and cousins on the brink of despair and drug-addiction. Although she grows self-sufficient and alienated through her years as an ER intern and a bout with cancer, her family believes that Ana is meant to be a healer of others, the divine power of caring and touching having been passed
on to her with the dying breath of her maternal grandmother.

Silloo and I read this aloud together. We both loved it. It is a love story between a native Hawaiian woman, abandoned by her mother and growing up in poverty on the dusty, unforgiving Wai'anae Coast of Oahu, and a charming, damaged Russian who was born in a gulag during communism's horrors. The story is anchored in the deep, earthy tribal spirituality of the indigenous Hawaiians, their tradition of story and family. This is counterbalanced with a hair raising visit to post Glasnost Russian where millions are starving in the villages and in the cities the onion domes glitter with gold while the streets are full of gangster, grey and gaunt beggars, and ex KGB agents. A theme throughout the book is the health consequences of environmental degradation resulting from military bombs testing on the island, and of nuclear experiments in Russia, that both governments denied.

What intrigued me about this book was the unlikely connection between Russia and Hawaii. Both cultures are equally familiar to me as places I've called home. Davenport has produced an accurate capture of two very unique and somewhat inscrutable cultures, and she did so with sensitivity and bluntness. It's a fascinating read and, while the characters are not naturally sympathetic, they compel you into their story and world. One of my goals in reading is to find empathy with a person or culture I do not fully understand. "House of Many Gods" is certainly an exercise in reading empathy and well worth the time.

I really wasn't sure about this book in the beginning. I was ambivalent for the first several dozen pages. But, I did find that the story grew on me as I kept going, and I became more engrossed in the characters' lives. I ended up enjoying it a lot. I would give it 3.5 stars, if goodreads allowed halves.

My favorite part was definitely toward the end, when the trucks carrying the tutu women rolled up on the scene.

For fans of Kiana Davenport, this book does not disappoint. It again explores history - this time that of Hawaii and Russia. It again challenges the reader to explore current day issues - this time the potential consequences of environmental pollution. And, again, she draws us into the lives of people damaged by drugs, war, poverty, stubbornness and despair. Kiana Davenport has a gift for describing Hawaii and its people while weaving in several detailed, and sometimes odd, story lines. Whether describing the luscious Hawaiian islands or a room "so small that it could be crossed in 11 steps", we are transported to the place and time of the characters. Another good story.

This book was depressing but it's a story that needs to be told in this depressing manner. It is a love story, but not in the traditional sense. The writing made the book drag on forever for me, and I couldn't get into it. However, I loved all the traditional Hawaiian knowledge and the plight and frustration native Hawaiians went through in regards to their sacred lands and environmental justice. It made me miss Hawaii's beauty and made me ache for all the troubles that the native Hawaiians went through--and still are going through--when the U.S. took over their lands.

I struggled although I’m sure I would have enjoyed it in audio much more.

Positive - I enjoyed most of the characters. I loved the use of native Hawaiian, Pigeon and Russian - it definitely added to the story (this is one reason I think the audio would be amazing because the language would be pronounced correctly). The locations came alive through the authors descriptions.

Negative - the storyline itself felt disjointed and I had a hard time getting drawn into the book.

Lots of positives but when I can’t get into the story I have a hard time recommending a book.

Not my favorite

Perfect beach read!

Good but not great

This is a beautifully written book, full of evocative imagery and memorable characters. I feel like I learn something about Hawaiian culture and heritage when I read Davenport's books and this one is no exception. However, as much as I found the passages about Niki's childhood near a Russian gulag captivating, I felt that story line detracted from the main story and felt like 2 stories merged into one. I also felt that the plot events in post Glasnost Russia were a stretch, at times being hard to believe.

Throughout the story is the theme of government abuse of the people, specifically testing bombs in Hawaii and conducting nuclear experiments in Russia that ruin the environment and poison people with radiation and other hazards - an interesting connection between the two very different cultures.

I really enjoyed the historical backdrop of this book...the Hawaiian and Russian cultures, languages, and histories. And also to see the parallels between the lives of Ana and Niki. I like that the characters were flawed but even in their flaws they had positive aspects. Sometimes Ana would bring me down. She seemed to think her life had been harder than anyone else's. She didn't really step out of her comfort zone and recognize she wasn't the only one suffering until towards the end of the book. An interesting book on the human spirit and the hope that is in all of us.