Maui News Review

Cultural spirits meet modern Hawaii in ‘Deep Blue Sea’

BETWEEN THE DEEP BLUE SEA AND ME by Lurline Wailana McGregor (Kamehameha Publishing, $15)

Like the lapping of waves on a shoreline, “Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me” enthralls slowly, gently, undeniably.

It’s an absorbing tale that one can read in a night and, like J.K. Rowling, suggests magic, ghosts and goblins, the latter in the form of prophetic earthquakes.

The novel deals with a cogent isle issue: resolving the search for Native Hawaiian identity. Read Complete Article

Mana’o Ulu Wale Review

In the voice of darkness, birds stirred with anticipation. The approaching daylight separated sky from earth. By the time the first rays of the sun reached the top of the Ko‘olau Mountains, the birds were already in full chorus, celebrating the arrival of a new day.

On the leeward coast of O‘ahu, a Hawaiian woman, ageless as the ocean, stood in the mystery, ready to carry out her role in the morning ceremony. Water lapped as the tide rose. Into the darkness, facing the intense calm of the water, she began to chant. The primal sound of her voice was filled with the power of those who came before her. Her song carried out to sea.

So begins award-winning filmmaker Lurline McGregor’s first novel, Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me.

Turning her cinematic eye to a story that inherently resonates with so many of us, McGregor delves into what makes a native person native. Expanding upon the question of nature versus nurture, she tells the tale of a woman – Native Hawaiian by birth, western by upbringing – who is forced to confront the dichotomy of her indigenous past with the realities of the 21st century. Read Complete Article