In a novel that moves back and forth between modern-day San Francisco and nineteenth-century Hawaii, Sheridan Brody, host of a Bay Area radio show, sets out to rediscover a previously unknown side of his family through the journals of his great-grandmother, Nani Keala, a half-Indian, half-Hawaiian woman who became a consort and confidante to the last king of Hawaii. 30,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

Sheridan Brody sets out to rediscover his family through the journals of his great-grandmother, Nani Keala, a half-Indian, half-Hawaiian woman who became a consort and confidante to the last king of Hawaii. - (Baker & Taylor)

From the author of Snow Mountain Passage, a saga of the Donner Party, comes a new novel, set in both our time and the late nineteenth century. It centers on a California woman, half Indian, half Hawaiian, who became consort and confidante to the last king of Hawaii.
The story is told by her great-grandson, Sheridan Brody, a Bay Area talk show host, whose life has reached an unexpected standstill. He can't quite commit - he doesnt know why - to his Japanese-American girlfriend and her five-year-old son. A corporate merger may soon threaten his job. But when he receives an on-air call from a woman claiming to be his grandmother, Sheridan feels compelled to uncover all he can about this previously unknown branch of his family, embarking on a quest that will change how he sees his future and his past.
What he finds, through the journals of his great-grandmother, Nani Keala (aka Nancy Callahan), and through his own investigations, is an almost mythic tale: how Nani, a shy girl from a remote Indian village, learns English at a local white rancher's school and meets the Hawaiian king, David Kalakaua, on his grand progress by train across the United States in 1881, and returns with him to Honolulu. There, as his young ally and protegee, ever more assured and charming, she plays an integral role in his attempt to revive the monarchy and spirit of his people and, eventually, witnesses the mysterious circumstances surrounding his downfall.
Bird of Another Heaven is rich in historical scene and character, based in part on actual events. Nani's life unfolds against the backdrop of the opening of northern California and America's rising ambitions in Asia and the Pacific during the 1800s. It is also a story of emotional intensity and compassion, equally compelling for Sheridan's contemporary journey of self-discovery and the journey of Nani, a woman of extraordinary power and appeal. - (Blackwell North Amer)

From the author of Snow Mountain Passage, a saga of the Donner Party, comes a deeply engaging new novel, set in both our time and the late nineteenth century. It centers on a California woman, half Indian, half Hawaiian, who became consort and confidante to the last king of Hawaii.

The story is told by her great-grandson, Sheridan Brody, a Bay Area talk show host, whose life has reached an unexpected standstill. He can’t quite commit—he doesn’t know why—to his Japanese-American girlfriend and her five-year-old son. A corporate merger may soon threaten his job. But when he receives an on-air call from a woman claiming to be his grandmother, Sheridan feels compelled to uncover all he can about this previously unknown branch of his family, embarking on a quest that will change how he sees his future and his past.

What he finds, through the journals of his great-grandmother, Nani Keala (aka Nancy Callahan), and through his own investigations, is an almost mythic tale: how Nani, a shy girl from a remote Indian village, learns English at a local white rancher’s school and meets the Hawaiian king, David Kalakaua, on his grand progress by train across the United States in 1881, and returns with him to Honolulu. There, as his young ally and protégée, ever more assured and charming, she plays an integral role in his attempt to revive the monarchy and spirit of his people and, eventually, witnesses the mysterious circumstances surrounding his downfall.

Bird of Another Heaven is rich in historical scene and character, based in part on actual events. Nani’s life unfolds against the backdrop of the opening of northern California and America’s rising ambitions in Asia and the Pacific during the 1800s. It is also a story of emotional intensity and compassion, equally compelling for Sheridan’s contemporary journey of self-discovery and the beautifully imagined journey of Nani, a woman of extraordinary power and appeal.

James D. Houston is the author of seven previous novels, among them Continental Drift, Love Life, The Last Paradise and Snow Mountain Passage. His nonfiction works include Californians; In the Ring of Fire: A Pacific Basin Journey; and Farewell to Manzanar, which he coauthored with his wife, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. He lives in Santa Cruz, California.

Booklist Reviews

/*Starred Review*/ This carefully developed novel, which pulls readers inexorably into its rich recesses, rests on a theme not uncommon in contemporary fiction: the rather primal urge to know our personal heritage, to understand our forebears as individuals. The specific symbol of that pursuit, in this case, is a royal artifact from the collapsing years of the Hawaiian kingdom before its annexation by the U.S. Like a bolt from the blue, a San Francisco-area radio-show host receives a call from a woman insisting she is his grandmother. Primarily through a multivolume diary kept by her mother, two worlds, two cultures open up to his astonished and absorbent awareness: the final years of the reign of Hawaiian king David Kalakau and a California Indian tribe's shrinking as the nineteenth century comes to a close. Houston, author of, among other well-received novels, Snow Mountain Passage (2001), uses a technique currently popular in historical fiction: alternating his narrative between a past and present period of time, which serves a twofold purpose--not only ushering readers into a vivid visitation to the past but also drawing meaningful parallels between historical and present-day events, to gain for his readers an appreciation of the past's influence on choices individuals make these days. ((Reviewed February 15, 2007)) Copyright 2007 Booklist Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

California during the Gold Rush and Hawaii on the verge of annexation as a U.S. territory provide a rich dual backdrop for Houston's colorful ninth novel.Its narrative is also a double story. A contemporary one, set in northern California in 1987, concerns the search conducted by radio talk-show host Sheridan "Dan" Brody into his family's patchwork origins—after elderly Rosa Wadell, the grandmother Dan has never met, calls in on the air and begins the unearthing of their people's fabulous history. Rosa's story funnels into the one contained in the daily journal kept faithfully by her mother, Nancy Callahan. This tale is in turn linked to the well-known story of the 1891 visit to San Francisco made by Hawaii's last king, David Kalakaua—on which journey, Dan learns, the monarch was accompanied by his "standard bearer" and consort (and, presumably, lover) Nani Keala: aka Nancy Callahan. The tumbling revelations include a wrenching portrayal of Nani/Nancy ("part white, part Indian, part Hawaiian") adrift among several cultures; the story of her father Keala, an intrepid adventurer who left the Islands branded with the mark of Cain and found his mission and his fortune by joining the westward march and empire-building of gold-hunter John Sutter; and the increasingly complex negotiations between the cagey King David and representatives of Peabody Trade and Maritime, the company that embodies American pursuit of economic gain through the acquisition of foreign resources. The pivotal event here is the recovery of a missing sound recording of the Hawaiian monarch's voice, made during his American visit: a priceless historical artifact, and a literal incarnation of his culture's worship of communal values and respect for its dead—a plaintive reminder that "all our stories must be told."A distinguished successor to Houston's superb fictionalization of the Donner Party ordeal, Snow Mountain Passage (2001), and compelling evidence that he's one of the best historical novelists working today. Copyright Kirkus 2007 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Library Journal Reviews

After opening with the death of the last king of Hawaii, this well-crafted and thoughtful work of historical fiction weaves its way back to the first scene, with the narratives of various charactersâ€"especially Nani Keala and her great grandson, Sheridan Brodyâ€"moving through time. As the book unfolds, the history of a dying monarchy is juxtaposed to events in Nani's life, and as her great grandson learns about the past, we see both its effects on him and the very real consequences for U.S. power over Hawaii. Although the dialog is sometimes strained, and character reactions often play to the overdramatic rather than the subtle, these are minor irritants in a strong and compelling read that fills a gap in the historical fiction of Hawaii. From the author of Continental Drift ; recommended for public and academic library collections.â€"Shalini Miskelly, Highline Community Coll. Lib., Des Moines, WA

Publishers Weekly Reviews

After his fictional treatment of the Donner Party (Snow Mountain Passage ), Houston's superb ninth novel details the life of Sheridan "Dan" Brody, a young Northern California radio host intent on discovering the origins of his shrouded family heritage. Dan's curiosity is sparked after seeing, for the first time, his birth certificate, which lists the name of a father he never knew. Not long after, Rosa Wadell calls Dan's radio show and reveals herself to be the grandmother he never knew about. Through Rosa's stories and her mother's diaries, a clearer picture of Dan's family history emerges. Houston interweaves Dan's life in mid-1980s San Francisco with the Hawaiian tribal legacy of his great-grandmother, Nani Keala ("Nancy Callahan"), a pioneer who learned the Hawaiian ways of life and took her place at the side of Hawaii's last king, David Kalakaua. The two story lines converge as Dan learns of and begins to hunt for a secret audio recording made at San Francisco's Palace Hotel during King Kalakaua's final days. Though it gets off to a slow start, Houston builds momentum as the novel's scope widens, and the historical detail is mesmerizing. (Mar.)