Losing My Religion. Manfred Schmidt, #4

Losing My Religion, is the final book of the story of Manfred Schmidt and is set between 1988 and 1992. The emerging adulthood of the angst-filled American hero continues in Honolulu, where he has moved to obtain his doctorate in political science. Living in Hawaii forces him to uncomfortably confront his racial identity. He travels to neighbor islands, captivated by their beauty and remoteness. His graduate student colleagues are from all over the world, which intrigues him and broadens his knowledge.
Manny dives into the intricacies of postmodern political theory and teaches international relations on Oahu. Manny is also lonely and misses the mainland. He briefly rekindles a previous romance, only to realize that the relationship is in the past. He moves back to the mainland to complete his dissertation and eventually gets a job as a professor in Kansas. At long last, he starts his academic career.
Yet it is difficult for him to ignore the Iran-Contra scandal and the disturbing vision he saw in the fall of 1980 as he grapples with the place of truth in politics. The other books in the Manfred Schmidt tetralogy are Book 1, Deacon Blues, Book 2, Sweet Dreams Are Made of This and Book 3, Road To Nowhere.