HONOLULU

Facing a bleak future in her native Korea, Regret (yes, that's what her parents named her) travels to early-twentieth-century Hawaii as a mail-order bride. Her husband turns out to be a lout; she leaves him and becomes Jin, a successful businesswoman in the capital city. For this first-person presentation, Ali Ahn's voice is appropriately youthful and vulnerable, if not-at-all Asian-sounding. She glides over the vowel-rich Hawaiian words with ease and makes a story full of history pleasant listening. She could have done more with characterization—there are a number of opportunities for multiethnic depictions—but she carries this story of a gritty woman and her adopted city to its satisfying end. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]