If You Live in a Small House

It’s the early 1950s in Hawai‘i. A multi-generation Korean-American family crams into a house in the Coconut Grove suburb of windward O‘ahu, across the mountains from Honolulu. With too many in too small a space, dreams either shrink-to-fit or seek escape—father recalls his wartime romance, sister-in-law Gloria yearns for a husband, son Ezra sows the seeds of homesickness even as he plots to leave home. Sandra Park’s novella captures the pent-up desires of family and an endless fascination with strangers. House, island, world—it’s a story that sings like a radio tune, familiar to anyone struck by longing and homesickness.

Author: Sandra Park