Moloka'i
3 journalers for this copy...
Arrived today from Better World Books. Recommended by friend Barb from Michigan and Florida.
While I am not a fan of the usual historical fiction, I do tend to like the novels that portray a time in history that is not well-known. This is one of those.
Moloka'i is one of the Hawaiian islands. It is known now as "the friendly island". For many years, starting in 1866 and continuing well into the 20th century, a part of the island, Kalaupapa, was designated for the care and confinement of "lepers". People who tested for Hansen's Disease (then considered the same as the biblical leprosy) were forcibly removed from their homes, declared legally dead, and shipped out to Kalaupapa to live out their lives. Brennert, when researching this topic, found there was no single book that told the tale, but rather he found bits and pieces in scattered places. We have him to thank for a fuller understanding of the colony.
In the novel, Rachel Kalama is sent to the colony as a young girl, leaving behind her family. Through the years on the island her father visited from time to time, when he was able, but she never heard from her mother or siblings. Her mother divorced her father and moved. Rachel is a beautiful young girl who has a form of the disease that does not affect her body as much as her nerves. She learns to live a full life in this colony, while not fully accepting her fate. She makes friends, loses friends, finds a mother substitute in a nun at the children's home she first inhabits. More than anything else, I think the novel tells us we don't have to suspend life when we are forced, for whatever reason, to live where we do not choose or do what we are not best prepared to do.
I liked the detail and the sense of place developed in this novel. I was less taken by the characters, who to me seemed predictable, almost caricatures at times. It felt to me like many of them were inserted into the novel to illustrate something about the colony or about the disease. A convenient and easy-reading way to learn. Worth reading but I didn't love it.
Moloka'i is one of the Hawaiian islands. It is known now as "the friendly island". For many years, starting in 1866 and continuing well into the 20th century, a part of the island, Kalaupapa, was designated for the care and confinement of "lepers". People who tested for Hansen's Disease (then considered the same as the biblical leprosy) were forcibly removed from their homes, declared legally dead, and shipped out to Kalaupapa to live out their lives. Brennert, when researching this topic, found there was no single book that told the tale, but rather he found bits and pieces in scattered places. We have him to thank for a fuller understanding of the colony.
In the novel, Rachel Kalama is sent to the colony as a young girl, leaving behind her family. Through the years on the island her father visited from time to time, when he was able, but she never heard from her mother or siblings. Her mother divorced her father and moved. Rachel is a beautiful young girl who has a form of the disease that does not affect her body as much as her nerves. She learns to live a full life in this colony, while not fully accepting her fate. She makes friends, loses friends, finds a mother substitute in a nun at the children's home she first inhabits. More than anything else, I think the novel tells us we don't have to suspend life when we are forced, for whatever reason, to live where we do not choose or do what we are not best prepared to do.
I liked the detail and the sense of place developed in this novel. I was less taken by the characters, who to me seemed predictable, almost caricatures at times. It felt to me like many of them were inserted into the novel to illustrate something about the colony or about the disease. A convenient and easy-reading way to learn. Worth reading but I didn't love it.
Sent to a fellow bookcrosser who had it on her wishlist and requested it.
This RABCK from my wishlist arrived today. Thank you so much, jlautner! It will get added to Mt. TBR. Many thanks again! :)
I'm glad I read this book, but still found it a bit disappointing. It was good, but simply didn't quite live up to its potential for me. I really enjoyed the fact that Brennert brought to light a historical place and situation about which I knew almost nothing. The Hawaiian locale is richly brought to life, and I enjoyed that as well.
Like jlautner, however, I found the characterizations a bit lacking. The people never seemed quite real to me. And while they engendered sympathy, I never really felt like I was vicariously living their joys and sorrows as my own.
I also wasn't completely enamored with Brennert's prose style. I was hoping for something a little more literary, but found his writing fairly utilitarian and a bit flat.
Still, it was worth the read, for sure! Thank you, jlautner, for sharing this one with me.
Like jlautner, however, I found the characterizations a bit lacking. The people never seemed quite real to me. And while they engendered sympathy, I never really felt like I was vicariously living their joys and sorrows as my own.
I also wasn't completely enamored with Brennert's prose style. I was hoping for something a little more literary, but found his writing fairly utilitarian and a bit flat.
Still, it was worth the read, for sure! Thank you, jlautner, for sharing this one with me.
Journal Entry 6 by ReallyBookish at Wishlist Tag Game , A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, December 10, 2016
Released 7 yrs ago (12/12/2016 UTC) at Wishlist Tag Game , A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This is headed out to iwillrejoice as part of the wishlist tag game. Enjoy!
Arrived safely today. Thank you!!!
