“Shadows of Kalalau” by Doug Walsh
“Shadows of Kalalau” is a novel that brings the reader into a unique world hidden all the way on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. For those who don’t know, Kalalau is the name of a famous trail found along Nā Pali Coast of the island of Kauai in Hawaii. It’s a dangerous 11 mile hike that covers rough terrain and is placed in a remote location far away from rescue. World famous is its "Crawler's Ledge” -- a section of trail so narrow one must lean against the cliff face, inching along, hopefully avoiding the steep drop into the ocean spray 400 feet below.
Police surround our main character Malia as the book brings you straight into the action. While initially unmoored, the opening scene launches you into a beautiful world colored by a cast of unique characters told through the captivating perspective of Malia Naeole, a nineteen year old young woman still reeling from the death of her mother.
As the story progresses, Malia hopes to reconnect with her mother Christina by finally visiting Kalalau beach. This beach looms large not just in her mother’s life but in Malia’s too as it is where her mother met her father and conceived her. Malia and her loving step-father Charles are left alone without her mother. The core of their relationship has been removed, and the two come up against each other as they struggle in their grief and their loss. As a young adult, Malia views her step-father as overbearing, but as the reader, I saw a father struggling to let go of all he has left. While the reader can sympathize with Malia’s perspective as she strives to enter adulthood, the narrative never makes Charles out to be a bad guy.
As the story is launched into the past, the reader is pleasantly surprised by the introduction of a second point of view -- Jordan. A man, genius in his handling of his career but not so much in the handling of love. As the story progresses, the reader learns about Jordan’s love for his work and for the sexy, alluring Holly who, unbeknownst to the newlyweds, is not compatible with Jordan’s aspirations with deadly consequences.
Malia lands on the island of Kalalau and disappears into the trails surrounding the beach to find the community of free spirited people her mother had all those years ago. One can’t help but wonder as Malia finds the island’s population of nomadic travelers just how much Christina's account of her time on the island had been colored by time and nostalgia. Whilst the idea of living on the land in this encampment is romanticised, one can absolutely see why the conservation efforts severely limit the foot traffic on the island when Malia observes the “camp” and with the introduction of Inoke -- the imposing and controlling force that inhibits the “Kalalua family” she dreams of finding.
With a storm brewing on the edges of the island, so too does a storm brew between the island’s inhabitants. Jordan’s character, once so tragic yet sympathetic, slowly unravels.
A story that is immersive in its detail that drips with character. The prose is beautifully written and creates vivid images as it is wonderfully colored with Malia’s perspective.
Whilst the story is engaging and a delight to read, this reader can’t help but nitpick one very important detail -- Malia’s relationship with Tiki. At 27 years old, Tiki is vastly older than Malia at her fledgling age of 19. Being an adult, Malia’s character is still coming into her own, especially as a young woman who has recently finished high school and has to enter the wide world on her own terms. I admired Tiki in his restraint and standing to not reciprocate Malia’s advances, only for the book to take it all back in the last two chapters. No longer do Tiki’s reasons for refusing her -- his age, his life experiences -- because now that he can reveal his true identity, he finds it appropriate to recuperate her feelings despite his stated reasons still being applicable. It is clear he never truly meant what he said, and the pair ending up together left a sour taste in my mouth.
Intercut with the different perspectives and Malia’s time in the police station, the reader is constantly propelled towards the story’s epic conclusion to the mystery of Malia’s arrest. At the same time, reading about her time on the island and the relationships she has with the other colorful cast of characters, doesn’t cause the narrative to drop or peter out. With a twist ending that leaves the reader breathless, “Shadows of Kalalau” is not one to miss.
