Moloka'i

by Alan Brennert | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0312304358 Global Overview for this book
Registered by winghyphen8wing of Honolulu, Hawaii USA on 12/24/2011
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This book is in a Controlled Release! This book is in a Controlled Release!
13 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by winghyphen8wing from Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Saturday, January 7, 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.

Here's another copy on my BookCrossing shelf.

Journal Entry 2 by winghyphen8wing at Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Sunday, April 1, 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
erpax - Finland, will mail internationally
carmendoran - Switzerland, will mail to EU/UK
FallenAngels - Portugal, will mail internationally
hostile17 - US (Indiana; wants to be last) <-- here!
??

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 winghyphen8wing at Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Sunday, April 1, 2012

Released 11 yrs 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 9, 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 3, 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 3, 2012

Released 11 yrs 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 / Nyland 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 / Nyland 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 / Nyland Finland on Sunday, September 23, 2012

Released 11 yrs ago (9/30/2012 UTC) at Vantaa, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

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 11 yrs 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 6, 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 winglauraloo29wing 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 winglauraloo29wing at Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Monday, March 4, 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 wingSoozreaderwing at Joensuu, Pohjois-Karjala / Norra Karelen 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 wingSoozreaderwing at Joensuu, Pohjois-Karjala / Norra Karelen Finland on Saturday, April 6, 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 wingSoozreaderwing at on Saturday, April 6, 2013

Released 10 yrs ago (4/6/2013 UTC) at

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

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

Journal Entry 20 by wingruzenawing at Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Arrived. Thanks for sending, Soozreader!

Journal Entry 21 by wingruzenawing at Vantaa, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Tuesday, May 7, 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 wingruzenawing at RABCK, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Released 10 yrs ago (5/7/2013 UTC) at RABCK, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Enjoy!

Journal Entry 23 by wingerpaxwing at Tampere, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland on Friday, May 10, 2013
The book has safely arrived here. Many thanks for sending, ruzena! Thank you for this interesting ring, hyphen8!

Journal Entry 24 by wingerpaxwing at Controlled Release, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Friday, June 7, 2013

Released 10 yrs ago (6/5/2013 UTC) at Controlled Release, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Having read The Island written by Victoria Hislop, I just couldn't stop myself from comparing these two novels. I didn't notice that big difference between The Island and Moloka'i that some book bloggers have found. I've visited Spinalonga in Greece but never been to Hawai'i (or even heard of Moloka'i before this book ring), thus The Island by Hislop was probably - at first - easier for my imagination. However, I think I found Moloka'i a little better than The island, a bit more touching, deeper, educating, etc. I also enjoyed all the Hawaiian names and terms that were quite exotic for me!

Here in Finland, we also have our own sad and creepy history of Leprosy. The main(?) leper hospital, was located on the outskirts of medieval Turku (the capital city at that time) After that, most of the diseased people were isolated / imprisoned on the Island of Seili in the Turku Achipelago.

Immediately after sending Moloka'i, Ruzena ⇑ has kindly sent me also a short (but extremely intense) story with a very similar theme by a Finnish auhor Hanna Hauru. Naturally, Hauru had set her leper story on the island of Seili. Probably partly because of sharing a common culture and language, her story had a strong effect on me. Still, there were so many things in common with Moloka'i, and also with The Island,.. All the Isolation and Shame although the life kept going on more than amazingly well.

Moloka'i has been travelling since last Wednesday (5th of June) by the snail-mail towards carmendoran and Dundee, UK. Sorry for this delay in my journalling. Many, many thanks for sharing this interesting book, hyphen8! Enjoy, carmendoran!

Journal Entry 25 by carmendoran at Dundee, Scotland United Kingdom on Monday, June 10, 2013
A nice surprise to find this one in the mailbox. Next on the pile to be read.

Journal Entry 26 by carmendoran at Dundee, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, July 12, 2013
Really enjoyed this book and being transported to something and somewhere that I'm not sure I could've fathomed before... Moving and 'real' - thanks for sharing!

Journal Entry 27 by carmendoran at Dundee, Scotland United Kingdom on Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Released 10 yrs ago (7/17/2013 UTC) at Dundee, Scotland United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Enroute to Portugal - enjoy

Journal Entry 28 by FallenAngels at Parede, Lisboa (distrito) Portugal on Thursday, July 25, 2013
Well, it arrived safely!! This will be one of my Summer readings! Thanks a lot...however I will be keeping it just a bit longer than one month. But I promised that by the middle of September I will give some news.

Journal Entry 29 by FallenAngels at Parede, Lisboa (distrito) Portugal on Monday, October 28, 2013
I swear I'm not a staller and I'm really ashamed I kept this book for long. I'm sorry and embaraced. However, the book is not lost. Thank you for the reading. I never read anything from this author and it was a nice surprise. It was a vivid romance and also taught me some of Hawaii history.
So thank you very much for the oportunity and the book is on its way to hostile17!!

Journal Entry 30 by book_drunkard at Osgood, Indiana USA on Saturday, November 9, 2013
Received today.
Thank you very much for including me in this ray.

Journal Entry 31 by book_drunkard at Osgood, Indiana USA on Friday, October 25, 2019
Beautifully woven, like a fine tapestry, this gem of a novel held me spellbound until the very last sentence.
Thank you for including me in this bookray, as I'm the last one on it, I'll probably release it to a bookbox soon so that it can continue its travels.

Journal Entry 32 by book_drunkard at Wishlist Tag Game, By Mail/Post/Courier -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Released 4 yrs ago (10/29/2019 UTC) at Wishlist Tag Game, By Mail/Post/Courier -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Wishlist tag game book.
Happy Reading!

Journal Entry 33 by jennannej at Coronado, California USA on Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Wow! This book has made tracks!
I just went to Hawaii for the first time last month, so I'm excited to read this one.
Thanks for the kind act in mailing me this book!

Journal Entry 34 by jennannej at Coronado, California USA on Friday, November 29, 2019
The book was a good one but hard to read. A life of loss and rejection. Well done.

Journal Entry 35 by jennannej at Columbus, Nebraska USA on Sunday, December 1, 2019

Released 4 yrs ago (11/30/2019 UTC) at Columbus, Nebraska USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Leaving in Nebraska for release

Journal Entry 36 by jennannej at Coronado, California USA on Tuesday, September 15, 2020
My mom in Nebraska mentioned she was reading this.

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