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Moloka'i

by Alan Brennert

4.10 · rating details · 15,401 ratings · 2,939 reviews

This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai'i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place---and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.
Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, ...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published October 4th 2004 by St. Martin's Griffin (first published 2003)

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Best Historical Fiction

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Community Reviews

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Apr 05, 2011

Lisa Vegan rated it

Recommends it for: everyone who can enjoy a well-crafted, engaging, perfect historical fiction-coming of age story

Shelves: fiction, novels, bookclub, historical-fiction, reviewed, favorites, orphaned-and-quasi-orphaned-kids

Reading this book contained and gave me absolutely everything I love about reading. It encompasses everything I love about the reading process. I loved it so much I know I won’t be able to write a coherent or worthy review; there’s no way for me to do this story justice, except to recommend it to many, many people I know, something I’ve already started to do.

Not only couldn’t I conceive of not giving it 5 stars, it also easily made my favorites shelf.

It’s an outstanding b...moreReading this book contained and gave me absolutely everything I love about reading. It encompasses everything I love about the reading process. I loved it so much I know I won’t be able to write a coherent or worthy review; there’s no way for me to do this story justice, except to recommend it to many, many people I know, something I’ve already started to do.

Not only couldn’t I conceive of not giving it 5 stars, it also easily made my favorites shelf.

It’s an outstanding book. Anything accurate I say will sound like hyperbole, I am sure.

I cried more with emotion than I have for all but another handful of books.

It’s a book to savor. It’s completely absorbing. It’s very hard to put down. Great storytelling!

It’s heartbreaking, heartwarming, there’s lots of pathos, but there is also plentiful humor, including humor that often comes unexpectedly, at least for me; many times during some of the most poignant moments, I'd find something hilarious. I chuckled a lot, and smiled at something on nearly every page. . It broke my heart yet lifted me up. I also learned so much, especially about Hawaiian history and culture and about the settlement on Moloka'i. It’s a fabulous book.

I’m so grateful my book club agreed to read this (okay, I finally bullied them into it) because it had been on my to-read shelf for forever, but having to read it for the group forced me to get to it.

I cared tremendously about so many of the characters, particularly Rachel Kalama, but really most of them are compelling. The settings are so spot on amazing and as I reader I really felt as though I was there, every step of the way.

It’s about a life/lives and never for a moment does the experience of being with them feel less than 100% authentic. Rachel: every moment with her feels genuine, everything about her and how she is makes sense at every stage of her life.

I absolutely loved all the Hawaiian words interspersed throughout, all with their English counterparts right with them so their meaning was always apparent.

And, if this historical fiction book couldn’t be more perfect, there is an author’s note at the end where the author lets the reader know a few real people a few characters were based on and lists the sources used for the research done to in general recreate the time and place. A stellar job was done, as far as I can tell. There are a bunch of books, and information about them, listed in the back of this novel, and I am tempted to read some of them, but honestly, this book sated me; even though it was fiction, I feel I couldn’t have come away with more edification from any non-fiction account; that’s how good this novel is. Every time I thought it was amazing, something else happened that made it even more so. Over and over and over again.

I talked with a friend as I was reading this book, and she reminded me that either our fourth grade teacher or his brother, who at the time was a Christian missionary in the Philippines, had worked on Moloka’i, working with the residents who had Hansen’s disease. That bit of information solved a puzzle for me: I couldn’t remember why when I was nine and ten I was fascinated by and afraid of leprosy, couldn’t remember how I even knew about the disease. And, I’m sure it’s one of the reasons this book appealed to me as soon as I knew about it; I was fascinated. So, yes, I had a predilection for being able to enjoy the subject of this novel. But, I highly recommend this book to anyone who ever enjoys historical fiction novels, coming of age novels, cross cultural stories, stories with child protagonists, anyone interested in Hanesn's Disease or the history of medicine, or anything about Hawaii and/or its history, and all readers who can appreciate a gripping story.(less)

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Oct 31, 2011

Hannah rated it

Shelves: 2011-reads, historicals

Disappointing.

Underwhelming.

Squandered potential.

Lacks "soul".

These are a few of the things that immediately sprang to mind after finishing Molika'i. After reading several 2 star reviews here on Goodreads by more gifted reviewers then myself, I really can't add much more without becoming repetitive.

Suffice it to say, this book had so much potential. So much possibility. And although a vast majority of readers thought it met...more

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Jan 31, 2012

Gaeta1 rated it

Shelves: read-2011, you-had-to-be-there, historical-fiction, gettng-into-mind-of-othr-cultur-not, improbable-in-any-known-universe, fallng-n-love-wth-research, puppet-strings-show-too-much

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Sometimes a book makes such an error that the reader stops dead in his tracks. I'm not talking nit-picking a small detail so that the reader can be accused of being pedantic. (In the early years of our marriage my husband would lean over to me in movie theaters and whisper that that guys in war movies were wearing uniforms that were a little out of date but I finally broke him of that habit) No, I'm talking about making a totally dumb factual mistake, like having a regency heroine taking a casua...moreSometimes a book makes such an error that the reader stops dead in his tracks. I'm not talking nit-picking a small detail so that the reader can be accused of being pedantic. (In the early years of our marriage my husband would lean over to me in movie theaters and whisper that that guys in war movies were wearing uniforms that were a little out of date but I finally broke him of that habit) No, I'm talking about making a totally dumb factual mistake, like having a regency heroine taking a casual stroll to Windsor Castle when the author really meant Buckingham Palace, or misunderstanding a character's world point of view so fundamentally that the reader literally jerks his head from the pages, and even if he does manage to continue the book he never really trusts the author again. I once had a friend fling "Pet Cemetery" aside; no vet, she said, would be against sterlilizing dogs and cats, and since she worked as a veterinary assistant she knew what she was talking about. Alan Brennert makes such an error in Molokai, only his mis-step is even more egregious than Stephen King's since it is an important, though not central part of the plot.

In the beginning, I liked the book well enough. I lived in Hawai'i for some years. I know how deeply skeptical (to put it mildly) people born in the islands view haole mainlanders coming in and writing about their homeland, but I was willing to give it a try. Besides, what did I know about turn of the century O'ahu since I had never lived there, and one brief visit to Molokai and occasional chats about the island with an acquaintance who had grown up there certainly didn't make me an expert. It was a choice for my book group, too, so I thought I'd better get going.

Young Rachel develops leprosy in turn of the century O'ahu and is eventually sent to the colony at Kalaupapa. The description of the symptoms of the disease, and the long bureaucratic process that banishes her to the other island, make for interesting reading. The novel traces the course of her life, and as sometimes happens in this sort of historical novel which covers a long period of time, the author crams in a lot of laboriously-researched events and details that don't quite fit, and it may also be for that reason that the book had a certain emotional distance. I never felt that close to the main character. OK, a great many historical novelists fall into this trap; it's understandable that you want to share all that hard work.

Then the author makes his big screw-up.(view spoiler) Shaken, I continued (after all it was a book group choice) but my confidence in the author was gone. I kept wondering... what other facts had Brennert twisted and manipulated to suit his purposes? What would a kama'aina reader think of this book? Was the Hawaiian viewpoint misrepresented as well and I wasn't close enough to see it? What else had I missed? Should an outsider even attempt to write about a fundamentally foreign culture? It really made me aware of all the manipultive tricks the author had used; I could barely keep my mind on the last part of the novel.

Now, some readers just read for the fun of reading about an exotic land and they might say I am just being fussy. But it bothered me. It really did. Because when an author breaks faith with his reader....well, what else is left?(less)

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Jan 26, 2012

Lance Greenfield Mitchell rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction

All because of fear

Unfounded fear, unbounded love, exile, cruelty, death, suffering, prejudice and, most of all, sacrifice. It is all there, in this beautiful story.

There is already enough description of the actual story on the fly leaf and all of the other reviews, but this is a wonderful book. It is well researched, and clearly based on fact. If any aspiring writer wants a lesson in character development, they need look no further than Moloka’i. There are so many promin...more

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Jun 10, 2011

Karen rated it

Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Karen by: Minooka Bookies

All I can say is that this book broke my heart. Over and over again.

It reminded me of my response to the book The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, as it shed light on a time and place in history in which I was very ignorant. In the course of reading The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, I learned something about the Internment of Japanese Americans (in Seattle area) during WWII.

In the case of Moloka'i, I learned much about the leper colony on this small ...more

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Apr 01, 2011

Kathy rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, highly-recommend, a-through-z-challenge-2010, favorite-authors, favorites, lisa-v

There's nothing quite like finishing a book and knowing that you now have a favorite to add to your list of favorite reads. While the story was as compelling a one as I've read, it was a learning novel for me, too. The absorption of Hawaii by the United States, the disease of leprosy or Hansen's disease, the leper colony of Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai (heck, the island itself), the island of Maui, early aviation. All of these subjects and more were presented in an amazing story by Bren...more

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Dec 07, 2009

Theresa rated it

Recommended to Theresa by: Hearless Bitches

Shelves: book-club

In 1891, five-year-old Rachel Kalama is a young and carefree girl living in Hawaii. She spends her days playing with her siblings and friends and looks forward to steamer day – when her father comes home from his work on a steamer boat.

But life will not remain idyllic for Rachel. Soon her favorite Uncle, Pono, is sent away to Moloka’i because he has contracted leprosy and the only way that was known to prevent the spread of the disease was to quarantine the people. It also created an...more

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Jun 06, 2008

Jessica rated it

Recommends it for: Anyone who wants to be in awe at people's resilience

Honolulu, Hawaii. 1890. Rachel is seven years old. She lives with her mother, father, sister and two brothers. She goes to school. She plays jokes on her sister. She watches her mother in the kitchen. She lives just like any typical seven-year-old. Until the day she is arrested for leprosy. She is taken into custody and sent to Moloka’i, an island where lepers are quarantined, in order to keep the rest of the world safe. The general assumption is that people go to Moloka’i to die. But, as Rachel...moreHonolulu, Hawaii. 1890. Rachel is seven years old. She lives with her mother, father, sister and two brothers. She goes to school. She plays jokes on her sister. She watches her mother in the kitchen. She lives just like any typical seven-year-old. Until the day she is arrested for leprosy. She is taken into custody and sent to Moloka’i, an island where lepers are quarantined, in order to keep the rest of the world safe. The general assumption is that people go to Moloka’i to die. But, as Rachel soon discovers, there is so much living to do before that happens! She surrounds herself with a new family; girls and boys, men and women, most of them sent there for the same reason. Though the life she and the others on Moloka’i lead is a trying one, restricted to live with an always present, always looming death, they experience a life that is not so different from the people on the other Hawaiian Islands and on the mainland. A first kiss, a first dance, a first love… And mixed in are also world firsts too! They welcome the 20th century with cars, planes, baseball, silent movies, talking movies, etc... The book follows Rachel, her entourage and their disease, as they grow; through the good and the bad.

I didn’t realize just how much I enjoyed this book until I reached the very last page. As I was reading it, I thought to myself: ‘This is okay, not great, but okay’. But by the time I reached the last page, I had tears in my eyes.

First, there was horror and revolt as I read about the way these sick people were treated. I had to remind myself that this was supposed to be late 19th century and early 20th, and not the year 2008. I understand this behavior came from ignorance, and the lack of science and technology and understanding. Then, the awe at how strong we really are, and how humans can cope with so much physically, and even more emotionally. I had to root for Rachel and her deformed friends, as they are the ultimate underdogs. Another aspect of this book was the author’s wonderful descriptions of the story’s backdrop. It was easy to imagine the sheer beauty of Rachel’s surroundings. I dreamt of traveling to Hawaii while reading this book. And the author definitely did his research. The book includes the historical events of the time, as well as the language of the location.

Definitely a wonderful read. Aloha.
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May 14, 2008

Sarah rated it

Rachel had the best life in her home in Honolulu, with her sister Sarah, two brothers, and her mother. Her father was a sailor who's gone for most of the time, but was the picture of a great father to his baby Rachel. But at age 7, a rosy mark appears on Rachels skin that would change her life forever.
Banished from her loving family under the pretense of Leprosy, Rachel finds herself living in Moloka'i (a famous leprosy settlement)where you follow her story as she learns that nothing lasts...more

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Feb 29, 2008

Juliana rated it

One of my favorite books, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, delves into the crazy idea that people don’t have to be miserable when the world around them is. Moloka’i is another such book. The message: life isn’t over until it’s over.

Separated from everything dear to her, the heroine of this book, Rachel, learns at a young age that life can still provide her with simple joys—and profound fulfillment. And though she spends many moments peeking into the abyss of despair, she also spends m...moreOne of my favorite books, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, delves into the crazy idea that people don’t have to be miserable when the world around them is. Moloka’i is another such book. The message: life isn’t over until it’s over.

Separated from everything dear to her, the heroine of this book, Rachel, learns at a young age that life can still provide her with simple joys—and profound fulfillment. And though she spends many moments peeking into the abyss of despair, she also spends moments rescuing others from the black chasm of regret.

She encounters those who choose to allow their circumstances to define them, bitterness festering into hatred, until they are a shell of a human. She meets those who allow bitterness to overcome them despite the blessings and freedom she has longed so desperately for. This novel highlights that the human race is endowed with the ability to choose happiness…or to choose despair:

“God didn’t give man wings; He gave him the brain and the spirit to give himself wings,” counsels Rachel’s friend. “Just as He gave us the capacity to laugh when we hurt, or to struggle on when we feel like giving up. I’ve come to believe that how we choose to live with pain, or injustice, or death…is the true measure of the Divine within us. Some … choose to do harm to themselves and others. Others … bear up under their pain and help others to bear it.”

This historical novel chronicles the lives of those who lived on the island of Moloka’i: a colony of “lepers” who are outcast from their families, friends and the lives that were once commonplace. At times the colony is attended to and kept clean and up-to-date. At times, it is in ruins and neglected by the various governments who fly their flags on it’s shore. And mirroring the settlement are people who can choose whether they have come there to watch their life fall into ruin—or whether they have gone there to discover a new, if unexpected, life.

When Rachel first lands on the shores as a young child, she turns away, sickened, from the people who greet her with smiles. Later she learns to accept and love these people. She also learns to accept herself and the trials that have been handed to her: “Friends called out to her; the surf beckoned to her; her horse, on seeing her, happily nuzzled her neck. This was life, and if some things were kapu [or forbidden], others weren’t; she had to stop regretting the ones that were and start enjoying the ones that were not.”

This novel is also threaded with themes of religion, culture, family life and politics. Each piece flows together seamlessly, making this a novel that I would heartily recommend to others.

First words: "Later, when memory was all she had to sustain her, she would come to cherish it: Old Honolulu as it was then, as it would never be again."

Note: because of several graphic scenes, I would not recommend this book for a young audience. Although frankly, most books I read are not geared toward a young audience...
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Mar 16, 2009

Amy (amyb2332) rated it

Shelves: 2009, historical-fiction, favorites

I really loved this book. Rachel is such a powerful main character and I felt like she was so well written. I don't really have anything negative to say about the book. The only reason I'm not giving this five stars is that for some reason probably not the fault of the acutal book, I found this for the most part to be a slow read. I'm not sure if it is because of the natural breaks in the story as Rachel ages or if it was the Hawaiian words that added a lot of depth and feel to the story but o...more

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Jan 29, 2009

Erin added it

I was watching a high speed car chase on television yesterday and something ACTUALLY HAPPENED. This is amazing, because Los Angeles probably generates about 3 high speed car chases a week and they are all INCREDIBLY BORING. This is because there is approximately 2353459845 miles of high way in Los Angeles and all of it is full of cars, all the time, making the general highest speed for a high speed car chase about, ohhhhh.... 20 mph.

(I guess that technically means there's actually ...more

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Oct 01, 2008

Anthony rated it

I really wanted to like this book. As the story progressed events became more and more labored and contrived. The main character Rachel did not seem to grow up in a believable way and continued to behave as a child might. I don't mind a bleak book but all the tragic events in Rachel's life were telegraphed to the reader well in advance. This book does excel in terms of describing Hawaiian history and appears to have been well researched.

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Oct 25, 2011

Jasika rated it

Surely the worst book of which I have ever read half. I kept thinking, "No self-proclaimed best seller can be THIS bad...it's got to get better, its GOT to get BETTER!" But it didn't. I picked it up at the book store after visiting Lana'i, Hawaii for the first time and becoming enraptured by the culture and the land there, and fascinated by what the people must have been like pre-colonialism. From page one I knew there was little hope for this "historical fiction" book to be ...more

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Mar 07, 2011

Laura rated it

Recommends it for: Bettie, Hayes, Chrissie

Recommended to Laura by: Misfit

Shelves: hawaii, historical-fiction, read-2011, favorites, health-issues

This is the story of Rachel Kalama, a girl who got leper with 6-years old and, by consequence, was segregated from her family in O'Ahu and sent to a colony of lepers in Moloka'i. The book tells about her struggle in order to get cured from this horrible disease and have her freedom re-established.

The author wrote a very touching story with a set a very special characters such as: her father who never stop to loved her and was the only family member who often visited her in Kalaupapa...more

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Aug 28, 2008

Larisa rated it

Recommended to Larisa by: Janice

Shelves: book-club-picks, historical-fiction, foreign-culture, tear-jerker

I stayed up until 2 a.m. finishing the last 100 pages of this book, stifling my tears so as not to wake up my husband. Needless to say this book is heart-breaking at times but also uplifting.

The story follows the life of Rachel, who at the age of 7(?) is suspected of having leprosy and forced to leave her family to live in a hospital under quarantine and eventually shipped to the live out the rest of her days in a secluded leper colony on the island of Moloka'i. Rachel's life on ...more

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Jul 24, 2008

L rated it

Recommends it for: gio

Moloka'i . . . what a beautiful sounding name for a culmination of cruelty in health policy. And yet the beauty of the name does fit the essence of th tale,which is one of the strength of ordinary people and the building of community in the face of great difficulty.

Moloka'i was a leper colony in Hawaii, dominated by bureaucrats, repression, and the Catholic church, all mixed together with a devastating and terrifying (at the time) disease, in the context of U.S. imperialism and WWII...more

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Jan 03, 2009

Kelly rated it

Shelves: booksreadin2009

I'd actually give this book 3 1/2 stars. The story was really interesting and a topic not often covered, the leper colony on the island of Moloka’i established in the late 1890s as the epidemic spread across the Hawaiian Islands. There are some richly developed characters and it definitely makes one understand the agony of being sent away and isolated from family, friends and the rest of civilization. My one complaint is that it is a bit long. The author could have told just as compelling a ...more

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Mar 13, 2009

Jessica rated it

Recommended to Jessica by: Leigh Anne

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 17, 2009

kim rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction

Great Story

This is a fictional account of life in a turn of the (20th) century leper colony. I had previously read "The Pearl Diver" by by Jeff Talarigo, another fictionalized version of the life of a 'leper' and was fascinated by it. So when my book club chose to read this book, I couldn't pass it up. It was riveting, and I learned a lot. Some I may have wished I hadn't. The ostracization of the victims was a shock to me. And yet....I can understand how fear caused their ...more

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Dec 21, 2007

Liz rated it

Shelves: couldn-t-finish

I had high hopes for this book. Living in a Polynesia I was excited to learn more about what Hawaii was really like before it was a $1000 or less vacation, especially the aspect of the leper colony on Molokai.

Unfortunately, the writing was very flat. The author is a LA screenwriter and you could tell. This would have been better if written by a Hawaiian I think. Someone who knows what it feels like to live in the tropics day in, day out.

I was also disappointed by the s...more

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Aug 13, 2010

Julie rated it

Recommended to Julie by: Bex

Shelves: recs-from-friends, all-time-faves, hawaii-five-0, historical-fiction

Reading Moloka'i was a very emotional journey. I connected deeply with the main character Rachel, who contracts the disease leprosy at the young age of 7 and is sent to an isolated leper settlement on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i. Through her story I learned so much about the disease and this time and place in our history when lepers and their families were separated, shamed and outcast. Abandoned and alone and facing great odds, Rachel courageously perseveres and with a strength of spirit fi...more

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Aug 10, 2011

Emily Zacharczyk added it

This is an amazing story of young girl diagnosed with leprosy and her coming of age with the stigma and the horrible symptoms associated with the disease. Not only was the story of Rachel gripping, but the history included in this novel shed light on topics I hadn't encountered before.

The author put a lot of research into this novel and his characters were all inspired by real people who had experienced life in the leper colony. So even though Rachel's story was fiction, her experiences and emot...more

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Jan 20, 2012

Shawn Davis rated it

Of course everyone is terrified of a disease that seems to make your skin melt off its bones. Afraid enough to capture those with leprosy and banish them, like criminals, to an island away from anyone they might infect. Then they are still afraid of the family left behind and the germs that family might carry with them, the germs that rot a person's body away while they still live.

Molokai is the story of that colony where Hansen's Disease sufferers - known for most of history as lepe...more

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Nov 27, 2011

Andrew Jacobson rated it

Moloka’i: A Novel by Alan Brennert (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2004. 400 pp)

Born in New Jersey and raised in Southern California, Alan Brennert received a Bachelor’s degree in English from California State University at Long Beach. In addition to novels, Brennert writes short stories, screenplays, teleplays, and musicals. For his work on L.A. Law, he was awarded an Emmy in 1991. During his career, Brennert has also won a People’s Choice Award and a Nebula Award.

When Diseas...moreMoloka’i: A Novel by Alan Brennert (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2004. 400 pp)

Born in New Jersey and raised in Southern California, Alan Brennert received a Bachelor’s degree in English from California State University at Long Beach. In addition to novels, Brennert writes short stories, screenplays, teleplays, and musicals. For his work on L.A. Law, he was awarded an Emmy in 1991. During his career, Brennert has also won a People’s Choice Award and a Nebula Award.

When Disease Alters Everything

Set in Honolulu in the 1890s, Rachel Kalama lives a normal life as a typical five-year-old girl when her mother discovers that she has a sore on her leg that won’t heal. The official health inspector quickly discovers Rachel’s malady (Hansen’s Disease, better known as leprosy) and she is torn from her family. Shipped out to an island of isolation, Rachel finds herself in the company of other lepers in the city of Kalaupapa.

Happiness and Loss

Rachel’s story is both one of happiness and of loss. It’s a sort of dualism that plagues the book, perhaps an effective commentary on our own lives. She experiences the loss of people she loves constantly throughout the book, meanwhile gaining new loves.

I’m amazingly moved and impressed by Brennert’s ability to find the depths of the soul where very few authors try to tread. Through this novel, Brennert poignantly tugs at the heart of the reader by forcing the reader to emotionally invest in unusual characters and their unique circumstances.

The Burden of Hansen’s Disease

Few readers want to dive into the life of someone with Hansen’s disease. Yet, Brennert forces the reader to dwell with these people. He forces the reader to know the life, the adventures, the love, and the loss of someone whose life has been drastically changed by a debilitating illness. The reader knows Rachel just as well as she knows herself, and eventually comes to the realization that Hansen’s disease took everything from Rachel, but also gave her something more in the end.

I obviously enjoyed the book. I think Moloka'i would be great for people that love Hawaiian culture and I’d strongly recommend it for anyone wants a simple, easy read.

Originally posted at www.wherepenmeetspaper.blogspot.com (less)

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Nov 07, 2011

Bobbi rated it

This book has it all--lepers, love, family and human nature. It's an epic tale of a Hawaiian girl in 1890 who is taken from her family because she develops leprosy and sent to a small island--a leper colony to live, presumably for the rest of her potentially short life. The first half was very hard to read because the young girl, Rachel is only 7 or 8 when she is separated from her family. All I could think of was, "What if this was Brenna?" It was very disturbing--not because she was ...more

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Oct 29, 2011

Saskia Marijke Niehorster-Cook rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction

When we lived in San Diego, we used to hold Season-tickets to the Coronado Playhouse. It was our mutually agreed yearly Christmas present to each other. Our one little luxury at a time when our children were very little and needed our constant attention. One of the plays we saw there was "Damien", a monologue play of a Belgian Catholic Priest that served and helped the Leper Colony in Moloka'i during the mid 1800's.

Recently, my neighbor Tom was kind enough to lend me his Molo...more

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Oct 09, 2011

Holly rated it

This book was rich with history and profound, touching and often raw emotions. I learned a great deal about the history of Hawaii, the disease of leprosy and was drawn into a heartwrenching story about love, great loss and the resiliency of the human spirit. This was a very powerful book.

I simply cannot fathom the life and losses that the main character, Rachael, endured. It is more than a little sadening to read of how our government treated (and at times didn't) people with leprosy....more

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Sep 03, 2011

Michelle rated it

Shelves: book-club-2

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. I haven't read too many stories set in Hawaii, and I thought it was interesting reading about its history (no wonder some Hawaiians still have a problem with haoles). And I haven't read any stories dealing with leprosy/Hansen's disease, so there you go--lots of new stuff for me.

Dislikes: I couldn't get a good grasp of the main character Rachel. At the beginning, she's a young child, so most of her motivations and thoughts I felt like were unde...moreFor the most part, I enjoyed this book. I haven't read too many stories set in Hawaii, and I thought it was interesting reading about its history (no wonder some Hawaiians still have a problem with haoles). And I haven't read any stories dealing with leprosy/Hansen's disease, so there you go--lots of new stuff for me.

Dislikes: I couldn't get a good grasp of the main character Rachel. At the beginning, she's a young child, so most of her motivations and thoughts I felt like were understandable. Then we jump to her being 17, and I just could not figure her out--are you rebellious, the good girl, the strong girl, the adventurous girl? Any time I started to get a sense of her, we would jump forward again in time and I would have to get to know her again. I did like her husband and her father, and her interactions with them, a lot though.

Another dislike: I hate it when novels set around the turn of the century going into the...eh...1950s or so decide that they must touch upon all major events in history. Don't get me wrong--I can see how and why that happens. Duh, it would be difficult to ignore world wars, and that's fine. But I get bothered when it seems like the author is going out of their way to include these points, or even when they seem to drag out their book to include certain moments, when really, they could have just ended the darn book. You don't need to make this a history book. I learned some already okay, like Hawaiians don't dig haoles. Do we need to go into WWII and internment camps? Do you need to throw in every technological advancement too? Like great, here's a gramophone, let's drink a Coke and look at Gibson girls, oh, let's watch a silent movie, oh boy, movie with sound now, ahhh, we're riding on a plane. Stop beating me over the head. Seriously, we can just surf, then talk about how it stinks that we can't ride that new hollow board when we no longer have our toes due to leprosy. See, that's related. You're not forcing something on me.

Last dislike, and it includes a **SPOILER**: Alan Brennert, this book is sad enough. People are dying left and right due to leprosy, people are separated from their families forever, the family left behind tear themselves up even more. You did not have to kill Kenji like that. I think at that point, you were just going for the dramatic, and I didn't very much appreciate it.

Okay, I'm ranting, but seriously, I did like the book.(less)

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Aug 11, 2011

Colleen rated it

Ok, maybe a little more long winded on this one...

Having visited Hawaii multiple times, I have taken boat rides around the islands and do recall being pointed out the small island of Moloka'i. From my recollection, this was an island of banishment where criminals and people with leprosy were sent.
In this book of historical fiction, there was much research done to understand what occurred on the island of Moloka'i a century ago. The characters were invented, although many were craf...moreOk, maybe a little more long winded on this one...

Having visited Hawaii multiple times, I have taken boat rides around the islands and do recall being pointed out the small island of Moloka'i. From my recollection, this was an island of banishment where criminals and people with leprosy were sent.
In this book of historical fiction, there was much research done to understand what occurred on the island of Moloka'i a century ago. The characters were invented, although many were crafted after true people. The author used diaries, newspaper articles, and journals based on the real people who spent their life, and most usually their death, on this quarantined island.

Rachel is only seven years old when the first rosy spot appears on her skin. Her parents are immediately frightened and require her to wear long pants and shirts to cover up the spots. When one appears on her foot, Rachel is also asked to wear shoes to school, for which she is teased without mercy. Often, she describes the men who come to her school to check the children's hands and legs for spots. She passes these inspections, and is not sent to banishment until an argument with her sister on the playground alerts the school to her disease. In anger, her sister screams, "leper!", and changes the course of Rachel's life from that moment on.

Although the conditions changed over the years for those banished to Moloka'i, is is said that the first boat to arrive on the island found a starving man, with stumps for hands and feet, abandoned in a shopping cart waiting to die. Rachel never hears from her mother or sisters again, and struggles through her first days, shocked by what she sees as her own future. She tries to find happiness and a sense of peace, and the visits from her father help her to remember who she is. With a slow moving form of leprosy, Rachel ends up spending 54 years of her life on this island, before receiving the proper treatment and being granted "parole". At this point, what is left for Rachel in the real world?

This is an amazing story, very well written, and comes highly recommended, well, by me :)
Thanks Meredith!(less)

· see review

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Wine Country Readers: My Book Choice	18	5	Feb 07, 2012 03:47pm
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Did you think the lepers should have been banished?	8	47	Jun 20, 2011 09:16am

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Alan Brennert is a producer and screenwriter but also writes books and stories, the majority of which are science fiction or fantasy. Brennert won an Emmy Award for L.A. Law in 1991.

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“Fear is good. In the right degree it prevents us from making fools of ourselves. But in the wrong measure it prevents us from fully living. Fear is our boon companion but never our master.” — 14 people liked it

“After a while the fear became a constant, cold companion, a simple fact of existence.” — 5 people liked it

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