Poetic, elegant and bittersweet, like all of Davenport's novels. Her depictions of old-school indigenous Hawaiian culture are pregnant with ancient meaning. I did find the love story between Ana and Max to be a bit fetishized. But no one writes nationalist fiction like Davenport. This book belongs in the annals of great literature.

I got this book while on vacation because I wanted to read a Hawaiian story written by a Hawaiian. I’m not going to rate this because it was just a not for me book. While beautifully written and rich in history, I didn’t enjoy the story itself. This is one of those - everyone has a tragic backstory- “sad girl” books and I personally just don’t like that.
But if you love sad literary fiction, this book is for you!

This was a wonderful book, especially if you have an interest in Hawai'i and the maoli kanaka (local folks). Davenport's story tells how ohana (family) and hoa aloha (friends) can sometimes hurt but ultimately heal. I loved her main characters. They certainly rang true for me. The book's secondary theme--worldwide environmental pollution caused by nuclear waste--I felt was handled in a predictable and sometimes heavy hitting way, though I have the same point of view as Davenport.

Reading others' reviews makes me want to add a comment about Hawai'ian culture. The abandonment of the main character Ana by her mother Anahola seems abhorrent to us, and to the resentful Ana. It may seem horrible and depressing for many readers. However, Ana's raising by her family, especially her cousin Rosie, is also a reflection of the Hawai'ian tradition of hanai, or "fostering" of children.

In ancient times the kapu (taboo)of blood required the bleeding birth mother to give up care for her child. That child was given to a close relative, typically an aunt, or friend for raising. This was particularly true of children of the ali'i, or noble, class. For example, the Hawai'ian queen Liliu'okalani was raised by foster parents. She always knew and respected her noble birth parents but considered her hanai parents her Mom and Dad. In the early 20th century, the great Hawai'ian composer Lena Machado was raised by her hanai parents.

In my interpretation of "House of Many Gods," Ana was a hanai child though she wasn't abandoned at birth. Her family didn't necessarily approve of Anahola's behavior, but they seemed to accept it as not that unusual.

At any rate, at the end of this book my tears were flowing onto the pages. Any book finale that makes me cry at a happy ending deserves my highest rating

10/10 would not recommend. I would not have finished it if not reading for a book club. I was not invested in a single character (and there were many) by the end of 300+ pages. The very definition of biting off more than you can chew in so many ways - too many characters, too many time periods, too many locations, too many difficult topics jammed into one book. It's disappointing, because I think there was a lot there that could have been developed differently into a very compelling novel.

Not my normal type of read, but being Sāmoan(from sister Island to Hawai’i) I felt drawn to read it. From one perspective it can be poetic, from another it can seem very drawn out & I found myself debating wether to finish later or not at all. Glad I chose to just finish it, I felt challenged to understand the poetic vibe & I think I understand it. Even still, felt like less could be said & still have yielded the same results.

pretty interesting. i love stories about hawaii. those islands have had the worst treatment than any other colonial possession. somehow they have retained their uniqueness as a people.

This book was wonderful. A beautifully crafted tale that explores super complex topics. It explores abandonment, broken families, environmental issues, health issues, and more but does it in such a way that the story feels like a tapestry of all these issues, woven together. The characters are flawed, which makes them feel so real. I care about everyone in this story. Definitely recommend.

Very sad, very slow, very beautiful book, combining Hawaii and Russia. A book that needs time and it makes me want to travel to new places.

What a wonderful redemption story. Beautifully written and fascinating history and customs of Hawaii.

Ever read a book and discover that all your truths have been turned upside down? This book did that for me. A profound book. Highly recommended.

A really good read. So chock full of details you knew the author had to be a native Hawaiian. I have been there several times and got hints of the culture there, but this book gave the reader a deep dive into the familial relationships inherent in Hawaiian culture. Oddly, I found most of the secondary characters to be more fleshed out and interesting than the main character, which made the book feel like an autobiography by a person who wasn't as self aware as much as being a good observer and chronicler of their community. Great dive into Russian culture too! My favorite observation was that Russians don't adapt. Even when they leave Russia. Such heartbreak and such joy in the same book.

This was a beautifully written book that gave me what I wanted from my Hawai'i reading list -- a better understanding of the REAL Hawai'i, away from Honolulu and Waikiki. Ana is a native Hawai'ian born in a village far up the coast from Honolulu. She grows up there with her large extended family, lots of them damaged physically and psychologically by the Vietnam War. The valley where she comes from is full of problems -- gangs, drugs, violence -- and she is deserted by her mother and raised by her family but she manages to become a doctor. Still, she never has any desire to leave her family, no matter how messed up they are.

She meets and becomes the lover of a Russian named Niki, a guy whose childhood makes hers look like The Brady Bunch. Seriously. Nothing is as horrible as Russia in this book. People who never bathe and grow moss ON THEIR BODIES WHILE THEY'RE ALIVE? A whole land full of starving, freezing people? A wife with cancer who Niki has to help to die by freezing her in the snow? A restaurant with a mummified, dead human in the corner? I do not ever want to go to Russia, no thank you. Niki becomes a documentary film maker focusing on the evils of pollution. He meets Ana after a hurricane in the Hawai'ian islands. Their story becomes the next chapter in the story of this book.

I loved it and it was a great escape from the terrible Michigan winter.