Moloka'i | Alan Brennert

Moloka'i | Alan Brennert | well...

books:

Moloka'i

	Moloka'i Alan Brennert, 2003 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 121 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An Epic Tale

When Molokai opens and introduces us to the indomitable Rachel Kalama, immediately I felt hopeless despair for the fate of this seven year old child as she is sent alone to the Leper Colony on Molokai. Though her uncle is already an inhabitant of the island, what sort of life could Rachel expect to have, sentenced as though a criminal to never leaving Molokai simply because she has a disease? From the mid 1800s to well into the twentieth century, Hawaii's law was that all those with leprosy would be shipped to Molokai, never to leave; they either died quickly or had to learn to make a life out of very little. So when Rachel finds herself separated from her parents and siblings, the only thing that keeps her from devastation is the idea that Uncle Pono and his lady friend Haleola will care for her. Then the next separation in her life occurs when the Board of Health takes her away from them and forces her into the girls' group home "for her protection." While it is only one of many separations ina lifetime of them, the best thing to come of this forced move is a lifelong friendship with Sister Catherine, one of the Franciscan nuns who care tenderly for the afflicted. Through friends and supporters, Rachel realizes she is not alone after all. As we watch Rachel's story unfold, it becomes clear that hers is not a hopeless, unmeaningful life; Rachel, hardy and rambunctious, is able to not only develop her own 'ohana (family) from the friends she finds on Molokai, she also finds love, death, and eventually freedom.

Told from Rachel's arrival on the island in 1893 until her death in 1970, this is a sweeping tale of a very real place and time in Hawaii's history. Warranted or not, Hawaii's law that all lepers must move to Molokai shaped, curtailed, and forged lives that only the strong could survive. How Rachel overcomes heart-wrenching loss and the odds against her survival make for a riveting tale that engages the reader within the first few pages. Brennert has expertly researched his story and invigorated it with tangible characters. The spirit of this book will live on in me for a long, long time to come. It is indeed the best sort of book to read and find that when you are done, you are actually nowhere near finished with the tale. Highly recommended.

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well...

I was going to read this but the Publisher's Weekly review pretty much revealed the whole plot from start to finish...thanks a lot.

Moloka'i

I am always happy to discover a book that is so fascinating it is difficult to set down. Moloka'i is a bittersweet story that begins in Hawaii in the late 1880's. Rachel, a seven year old Hawaiian girl is discovered to have leprosy and is sent away from her home to Kalaupapa, where she lives in a leper colony with a whole community of folks that also have the disease. The book is a work of fiction, but the story is set in a real place with real life characters whose lives are interwoven with fictional characters. (Some of the fictional characters are based on real people). Rachel herself is fictional. The story is so touching, and Rachel is such a strong character that you find yourself cheering to her strength and courage, and greiveing with her at her many losses. There are so many lessons that Rachel teaches about life and love.

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A 'Good Read', educational and thought provoking

Now, this isn't the great american novel, but it grabs your interest and sustains it throughout. Rachel becomes a friend that you care for and pray she finds happiness. The final chapters are not as fulfilling as the rest of the novel, it's as if the author had said all he needed to say, and just wanted to tie up loose ends. It offers a window into one more of the injustices our Government inflected upon native nations and their people. A true story of how, when given lemons, people somehow made lemonade.

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Moloka'i is an interesting tale of a time in the history of Hawaii with which I was not familiar. It contains much information along with an engaging tale of a leper and her life before and after the disease. My one complaint is that the ending was a little too tidy, a little too "Hollywood", but all in all it is a good read.

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