Journal Entry 1 by hyphen8 from Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Saturday, January 07, 2012

A very human fictional portrayal of a patient with what is now better known as Hansen's Disease, and a look at life in Kalaupapa and Kalawao, the communities that were served by Saint Damien and Blessed Marianne Cope (scheduled to be canonized in October 2012).

I think Mom wants to read this before I release it. 

Journal Entry 2 by hyphen8 at Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Sunday, April 01, 2012

International bookray headed out to see the world!

Here are the instructions:

1. Make a quick journal entry when you receive the book so we know it got to you safely.

2. VOLUNTARY - let's see if anyone reads this part! ;) If you're willing, please PM hyphen8 for my address and send me a postcard with some interesting stamps on it for my mom the stamp collector, especially if you're not in the US.

3. Read and send on within 1 month - or make a journal entry to let us know how it's going if you need to keep the book longer. I realize that sometimes life gets in the way of BookCrossing, but please keep us posted on what's happening.

4. Make a journal entry when you've finished - tell us what you thought!

5. Check back here to make sure the mailing order hasn't changed, then PM the next person in line for an address. Even if you've mailed something to that person before, please double-check their mailing info and make sure they're still interested and able to participate.

6. Use whatever shipping method works best for you; if you're able to use delivery confirmation/tracking that's always nice.

Current order (subject to change):
*PLEASE* check before sending to the next person!

klaradyn - South Africa, will mail internationally
Jo_an_a - Finland, will mail internationally
biisbsw - US (New York), prefers US mailing
valpete - US (California), will mail internationally
lauraloo29 - Canada (Alberta), will mail internationally
Soozreader - Finland, prefers to mail within Europe
ruzena - Finland, will mail internationally <-- here!
erpax - Finland, will mail internationally
carmendoran - Switzerland, will mail to EU/UK
FallenAngels - Portugal, will mail internationally
hostile17 - US (Indiana; wants to be last)
??

If you see a known staller on this list please send me a PM.

If you'd like to participate, post in the forum thread and send me a PM with your location and mailing preferences. 

Journal Entry 3 by hyphen8 at Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Sunday, April 01, 2012

Released 1 yr ago (4/2/2012 UTC) at Honolulu, Hawaii USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Headed to South Africa to start the bookray! 

Journal Entry 4 by klaradyn at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Arrived today. Thanks for sending, hyphen8, I look forward to reading this one. (Also, please PM me your address and I'll send a postcard for your mom.) 

Journal Entry 5 by klaradyn at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Friday, August 03, 2012

I was quite disappointed by this book. While I found the premise of the story interesting, the execution left much to be desired. Brennert writes flat and lifeless prose - it feels like you're just reading a list of things that have happened to Rachel, and there is no emotional connection to the characters. Also, I would have enjoyed a bit more historical context.  

Journal Entry 6 by klaradyn at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Friday, August 03, 2012

Released 9 mos ago (8/3/2012 UTC) at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to Jo_an_a today via airmail, so it should be there within a week or two.

I'm so sorry for having kept the book this long, real life has gotten in the way of my BookCrossing commitments these past months. Please forgive me! 

Journal Entry 7 by jo_an_a at Helsinki, Uusimaa Finland on Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The book arrived today, many thanks! I have one bookring ahead of this to read. 

Journal Entry 8 by jo_an_a at Vantaa, Uusimaa Finland on Saturday, September 15, 2012

Loved it.

This book vas very different to many books I've recently read in that it was so positive. Very early on I started having faith in the author, that he wouldn't send Rachel down some miserable path of drug addiction or eating disorder, but let her (and other characters too) keep her dignity and serene outlook in life throughout the book. Reading this was a calming and refreshing experience, I will definitely look for the author's other book too.

As always when I read books on unfamiliar topics, I have now also done a lot of research on leper colonies, Hawaiian history and the japanese immgration to Hawaii.

Thank you so much for sharing this book.

I will PM biisbsw for address. 

Journal Entry 9 by jo_an_a at Vantaa, Uusimaa Finland on Sunday, September 23, 2012

Released 7 mos ago (9/30/2012 UTC) at Vantaa, Uusimaa Finland

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I shall post this book to biisbsw once I return home from my vacation. :) 

Journal Entry 10 by biisbsw at Endicott, New York USA on Monday, October 15, 2012

Just arrived today. I should be able to get to this very soon. Thanks so much for this! 

Journal Entry 11 by biisbsw at Endicott, New York USA on Monday, November 26, 2012

I really liked this book. Thanks so much for the chance to read this. I'll get this out to valpete shortly. 

Journal Entry 12 by biisbsw at Endicott, New York USA on Friday, November 30, 2012

Released 5 mos ago (11/29/2012 UTC) at Endicott, New York USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to the next reader. Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 13 by valpete at Walnut Creek, California USA on Thursday, December 06, 2012

I've now received this book. However, I do have a few before this one. Please be patient and remind me if I'm taking too much time.

Sorry I've been delayed. I'll be reading this during January and will send it along to the next reader by the end of the month. Thanks for your patience! 

Journal Entry 14 by valpete at Walnut Creek, California USA on Sunday, January 27, 2013

Thanks for being patient; my apologies for keeping this book past the allotted time. I found this book to be hauntingly sad, exquisitely executed and surprisingly uplifting. Considering the setting is the leper colony in Hawaii at the turn of the century, you would not think you could fall in love with the characters or story. The characters are well treated by this author, especially the pivotal character, Rachel, who is followed from childhood to old age. I also really appreciated how the author treated Sister Mary Catherine, not shying away from her own crisis of faith. A compelling read about a sad time in history. It certainly made me appreciate the advances in medicine that have been made since.

I'll be sending this along to the next reader on the list.  

Journal Entry 15 by lauraloo29 at Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Arrived today. I just started another thick bookring. No worries, I will keep this moving. Thank you! 

Journal Entry 16 by lauraloo29 at Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Monday, March 04, 2013

This was a good read. We were in Hawaii 1.5 years ago. Not Molokai. What a beautifully sad story. I wonder if this is how AIDS patients felt in the beginning (some maybe still). A very human story.

I have the next address. I will pop it in the mail next week. Thank you for sharing! 

Journal Entry 17 by Soozreader at Joensuu, Pohjois-Karjala Finland on Monday, March 25, 2013

Thank you very much, the book arrived safely today! I look forward to reading it:) 

Journal Entry 18 by Soozreader at Joensuu, Pohjois-Karjala Finland on Saturday, April 06, 2013

I think this was a beautiful, bittersweet story...even though it was a work of fiction, I think it was very educational as well. I think the structure was a bit movie-like, parts and chapters skipping years and then something, even something significant, that had happened in the meanwhile was mentioned quite casually...sometimes it was quite hard to keep up with it... All in all a very good and interesting book! Thank you for sharing it with me:) 

Journal Entry 19 by Soozreader at by mail, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, April 06, 2013

Released 1 mo ago (4/6/2013 UTC) at by mail, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The book is on its way to the next reader! Happy Reading :) 

Journal Entry 20 by ruzena at Helsinki, Uusimaa Finland on Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Arrived. Thanks for sending, Soozreader! 

Journal Entry 21 by ruzena at Vantaa, Uusimaa Finland on Tuesday, May 07, 2013

I had never heard about Moloka'i until I found that name some time ago when reading Resan ut (Voyage Out) by Virginia Woolf. In this fiction of Woolf's, the main character Rachel tells that she had been named after her auntie Rachel who had written a biography of Father Damien. There is then a footnote telling who Father Damien was and what Moloka'i is. (And the peculiar spelling then called my attention on this bookring.) I wondered how Virginia Woolf knew about Father Damien, but now I learned that at least her compatriot and colleague R.L. Stevenson had visited Moloka'i. Now I still wonder if Alan Brennert's Rachel is a coincidental name or a tribute to Virginia Woolf. Some trivia!

The book Moloka'i was moving and beautiful. Just a bit long, thus I felt a little bored sometimes (sure they did at Kalaupapa too), and literally not anything exceptional; but the story is the point. So the novel was absolutely worth wading through. The knowledge about Hansen's disease and cure that the author had planted in the book appeared mostly reliable (well maybe only in fiction leprosy can change one’s sex the way it did). Interesting details, like the early "moving pictures", the diplane and even Halley Comet, fixed the story in the proper era. The role of different churches and even the traditional Hawaiian religion were remarkable in the time as things were interpreted as God's or gods' deeds; successfully, the storyteller gives fair turns to speak. The warmth and the humor in characterizing the main persons make the book the haunting thing it is.

Thanks for sharing! Now travelling on.

-ruzena 

Journal Entry 22 by ruzena at RABCK, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Released 2 wks ago (5/7/2013 UTC) at RABCK, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 23 by erpax at Tampere, Pirkanmaa Finland on Friday, May 10, 2013

The book has safely arrived here. Many thanks for sending, ruzena! Thank you for this interesting ring, hyphen8!