Kona Stories Hosting Book Club Meetings in March

Courtesy photo.

Kona Stories Book Store has announced their monthly book club meetings for the month of March.

Groups meet each month to discuss works of fiction, travel, memoir, classic and non-fiction. Book clubs are free to attend if selected works are purchased from Kona Stories. Otherwise, a $5 donation is appreciated.

Attendees may bring a pūpū or beverage to share and come prepared to discuss the following books. For more information, contact Brenda or Joy at (808) 324-0350 or visit www.konastories.com.

March Book Club Meetings

Fiction – March 12, 6 p.m., at Kona Stories: A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton’s acclaimed debut novel A Kind of Freedom explores the racial disparity of the South through the lens of a family history. The narrative follows Evelyn, a Creole woman who grows up in New Orleans at the height of World War II. In 1982, Evelyn’s daughter, Jackie, is a frazzled single mother grappling with her absent husband’s drug addiction. Jackie’s son, T.C., loves the creative process of growing marijuana more than the weed itself. He was a square before Hurricane Katrina, but the New Orleans he knew didn’t survive the storm. For Evelyn, Jim Crow is an ongoing reality, and in its wake new threats spring up to haunt her descendants.

Classic – March 19, 6 p.m. at Kona Stories: So Big by Edna Ferber

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, So Big is described as a literary masterwork by Edna Ferber who also penned the classics Show Boat, Giant, Ice Palace, Saratoga Trunk, and Cimarron. Set in the rollicking panorama of late 20th-century Chicago, So Big is the unforgettable story of Selina Peake DeJong—a gambler’s daughter—and her struggle to maintain her dignity and sanity in the face of marriage, widowhood and single parenthood. Hailed as a “novel to read and to remember” by The New York Times, So Big presents an unflinching commentary on poverty, sexism and ambition.

Non-Fiction – March 26, 6 p.m., at Kona Stories: Midnight in Broad Daylight by Pamela Rotner Sakamoto

Alternating between American and Japanese perspectives, Midnight in Broad Daylight captures the uncertainty and intensity of World War II in Japan, providing a fresh look at the first atomic bombing in Hiroshima. Intimate and evocative, the story is an indelible portrait of a resilient family, a scathing examination of racism and xenophobia, an homage to the tremendous Japanese American contribution to the American war effort, and an invaluable addition to the historical record this era.