How to Be an American Housewife

For the first time in my life, I was invited to a book launch by the author herself. True, there were advertisements and announcements informing the public of the event, but my invitation was personally directed and can now be counted as a grand highlight of my adult life. Margaret Dilloway’s debut novel, “How To Be An American Housewife”, hit book stores on Thursday, August 5th and its introduction to the masses was kicked off by a reading, an informative Q&A portion, and of course an autograph session at the Ala Moana Barnes & Noble store that evening.

I arrived (early, like the book nerd that I am) with Kalani and a few friends in tow. A decent sized crowd eventually emerged from all corners of the store to sit in the area between the cookbooks and the travel section that border the Starbucks cafe. Margaret and I have been meeting off and on over the last year since she moved to Hawai’i from San Diego. I am familiar enough with her to know that she seemed a tad nervous, but who wouldn’t be with a giant picture of yourself hanging from the rafters in front of a huge display of your books? It didn’t take long for her to relax in spite of the excitement in the air. She did very well with her reading and the crowd loved her. Pat Wood, the author of “Lottery,” was also in the house and I believe her presence helped put Margaret at ease. Their friendly banter had us giggling in our seats. During the Q&A portion of the program, Margaret asked me if I had a question for her. I was still flush with awe and admiration and my response was, “Not at this time.” I just couldn’t find my words, which is unbelievable if you know me and I really couldn’t get past the excitement and happiness I felt for her.

The book has been getting positive press all along, including a 4-star rating in People Magazine’s August 23rd issue and a rather successful blog tour as well as an impressive showing at her book event at a Barnes and Noble in San Diego last week. The last thing it needs is a few humble words uttered by yours truly, but I definitely want to get them in edgewise.

It is ultimately a story of relationships, most notably the one between mother and daughter. The novel is presented in equal parts by Japanese war bride Shoko and her American daughter Sue. It explores the obvious cultural divide between them as well as the emotional and physical distance between Shoko and her brother Taro back in Japan. Each chapter begins with a snippet from the fictionalized handbook within the book, “How to Be an American Housewife”. The handbook is full of useful tips meant to assist with assimilation in America and western civilization and a very viable way for the reader to gain insight of the various layers of the story. I almost wish it were an actual book! My favorite of these chapters is hands down A Map to Husbands. There is not a woman I know who would not benefit from such a useful tool. I found myself stirred by the very real possibility that these characters could exist in my world which speaks to how fully developed they were. I love Margaret’s literary language, her thoughtful writing never loses its momentum toward resolution or deprives us of a truly remarkable ending.

“How to Be an American Housewife” is available practically everywhere, including my favorite Japanese bookstore in San Francisco and even on the electronic reading device (cough, Kindle, cough) of your choice.