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The Tattoo
McKinney, Chris. The Tattoo. Mutual Publishing (1215 Center Street, Suite 210, Honolulu, Hawaii 96816), 1999, 230p. ISBN 1-56647-319-5 (pa), $6.95.
In The Tattoo, novelist Chris McKinney exposes a side of paradise that many like to pretend doesn’t exist. The story unfolds from inside Halawa prison where Ken Hideyoshi is serving time for murder. The novel goes on to explore three distinct phases of Ken’s life, and how each contributed to his ultimate destination, prison. Ken had grown up in poverty on the windward side of Oahu. Ken’s mother dies while he is still very young, and he must rely on his abusive and emotionally distant father. As Ken matures, he encounters peer pressure associate with drugs, alcohol, sex and violence. After high school graduation, Ken is determined to get away from the windward side and start a new life. He begins college in Honolulu, and changes his lifestyle completely. Until, one day he inadvertently lands right in the middle of the Honolulu underground. Throughout the novel, Ken must deal with his samurai heritage. Will Ken be able to escape the cycle of abuse and violence that has been haunting his family for decades?
Chris McKinney has been a composition and literature teacher at Leeward and Honolulu Community Colleges, Hawaii Pacific University, and Chaminade University. Although The Tattoo is his first novel, he has won several awards, including the Elliot Cades Award for Literature in 2000 and two Palapala Po’okela Awards for Excellence in Literature and Excellence in Writing Literature.
The Tattoo delivers a good read while exposing the very real world of underground crime in Honolulu. This is a coming of age novel in which the protagonist must deal with the consequences of his choices. It also brings up the deeper question of how life’s circumstances limit one’s choices. It is reminiscent of S.E. Hinton’s classic young adult novel, The Outsiders, in that regard. The frank language might put some readers off, but it is necessary to retain the authenticity of McKinney’s characters.
This book is recommended for high school libraries as well as the young adult section of public libraries, especially those in Hawaii. McKinney is not afraid to address tough issues and challenges that face today’s youth. Many young people will find themselves able to relate to Ken. Local youth will easily see people they know in the characters that McKinney created. It is an easy read which catches the reader’s interest from the first chapter.
In The Tattoo, novelist Chris McKinney exposes a side of paradise that many like to pretend doesn’t exist. The story unfolds from inside Halawa prison where Ken Hideyoshi is serving time for murder. The novel goes on to explore three distinct phases of Ken’s life, and how each contributed to his ultimate destination, prison. Ken had grown up in poverty on the windward side of Oahu. Ken’s mother dies while he is still very young, and he must rely on his abusive and emotionally distant father. As Ken matures, he encounters peer pressure associate with drugs, alcohol, sex and violence. After high school graduation, Ken is determined to get away from the windward side and start a new life. He begins college in Honolulu, and changes his lifestyle completely. Until, one day he inadvertently lands right in the middle of the Honolulu underground. Throughout the novel, Ken must deal with his samurai heritage. Will Ken be able to escape the cycle of abuse and violence that has been haunting his family for decades?
Chris McKinney has been a composition and literature teacher at Leeward and Honolulu Community Colleges, Hawaii Pacific University, and Chaminade University. Although The Tattoo is his first novel, he has won several awards, including the Elliot Cades Award for Literature in 2000 and two Palapala Po’okela Awards for Excellence in Literature and Excellence in Writing Literature.
The Tattoo delivers a good read while exposing the very real world of underground crime in Honolulu. This is a coming of age novel in which the protagonist must deal with the consequences of his choices. It also brings up the deeper question of how life’s circumstances limit one’s choices. It is reminiscent of S.E. Hinton’s classic young adult novel, The Outsiders, in that regard. The frank language might put some readers off, but it is necessary to retain the authenticity of McKinney’s characters.
This book is recommended for high school libraries as well as the young adult section of public libraries, especially those in Hawaii. McKinney is not afraid to address tough issues and challenges that face today’s youth. Many young people will find themselves able to relate to Ken. Local youth will easily see people they know in the characters that McKinney created. It is an easy read which catches the reader’s interest from the first chapter.
Submitted by Karen Makanui, LIS Student, University of Hawaii at Manoa, May 2006.
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