Alan BrennertMoloka'i

I loved this book. It was entertaining, educational and well written. The characters really came to life and led me through the story. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in historical books and wants to learn about a part of Hawaiian history that few even know occurred.

Read for book club.This is one I probably wouldn't have picked up on my own but I did enjoy the history and the point of view. Brennert definitely had the human level from both the POVs of those placed in the leper colony and those nuns who helped them.

After having read the exploitative and shameful "non-fiction" work "The Colony," by John Tayman, I was a bit leery of Alan Brennert's "Moloka'i," a wholly fictional account of the one-time leper colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of Moloka'i. I am very glad, however, that I did read Brennert's amazing novel as it gives a far more accurate portrayal of the time and the place and the people than Tayman's book ever could. It is a sweeping piece of historical fiction and an emotional (but never manipulative) journey of seven-year-old Rachel Kalama who, after being diagnosed in the late 1800s, is sent to Kalawao/Kalaupapa, the site on Moloka'i which served as a leper colony from 1866 until 1969.Unlike Tayman (whose non-fiction account has been decried by scholars and the remaining residents of Kalaupapa themselves), Brennert does not feel the need to sensationalize the historical facts to tell his story. Brennert did his research and was wise enough to know that the story was compelling enough--it didn't need to be "ratcheted up"--to have an emotional impact upon the reader and to do justice to the thousands who lived and died at Kalawao and Kalaupapa.While Rachel's story is fictional, Brennert acknowledges that some of the characters in the novel were loosely based upon people who had actually lived at Kalaupapa. Brennert wisely creates composite characters, taking bits and pieces from the historical records and correspondence of the time. The result is deeply affecting and rich characters, and a portrait of a people who took the worst of times and lived quiet, dignified lives a world away from their families and friends who seemed to have forgotten them. One of the pieces I am grateful that Brennert worked in was the presence of the Mahu, the gay Hawaiians who lived and breathed and were likely committed to Kalaupapa. While at first glance the Mahu character might teeter on stereotype, Brennert creates a very full character that overcomes the stereotypes.Brennert's prose is also quiet. Simply, he creates a realism that never dares cross into exoticism of Hawai'i or of its people, but still manages to depict environ most have never experienced. He captures the idyllic setting and peoples it with human beings full of faults and foibles and courage. We get to see our heroine Rachel grow up, fall in love, marry, as well as grieve the friends (and family) who come and go out of her life throughout the decades. We are given the joys she experiences, as well as the lows, and as we live Rachel's life right along with her, we feel almost privileged to have met these remarkable people and shared in their indomitable spirit, if only for a brief time.One of the potential pitfalls for any piece of historical fiction is info-dumping, throwing historical facts in to give the proper perspective. When handled ineptly, passages of books can begin to feel like history lessons forced upon the reader. For the most part, Brennert avoids this masterfully. Almost never does any information feel unnecessary or forced, an author showing off his research abilities. It is all woven beautifully into the prose, amazing considering the historical events depicted: the death of a King, the overthrow of a Monarchy, the advent of radio and electricity, the dawning of statehood, the bombing of a harbor. It all fits.If I have any nit-picking to do with respect to this story, it is that, at times, the dialog feels almost too contemporary, more 21st century than late 19th. But this is a minor quibble. In the end, Brennert creates a moving story and one of the most memorable heroines I have ever met, a young girl who blossoms into womanhood and manages to live a remarkable life.The breadth and beauty of this novel cannot be understated, and the fact that Brennert takes a difficult period of Hawaiian history and the topic of leprosy that some might find horrific and creates a life-affirming story of love and perseverance without ever venturing into maudlin sentimentality is something to be lauded. Memorable characters, memorable lives lived with dignity. I couldn't ask for more in a piece of historical fiction.Originally reviewed for Guilty Pleasures at Uniquely Pleasurable.

I’ll never forget and always appreciate the haunting story of Moloka’i’s past. The stigma placed on lepers years ago is heartbreaking. They were outcasts and treated horribly. New babies were immediately taken from the parents who were forced into giving up their parental rights. Families of lepers were ashamed and often severed ties adding to the abandonment their leper relative had to indure. Rachel, the main character in this book, is determined to make the best of what life has dealt her and she perseveres. Very good book.

I loved this book! Rachel, the main character, was believable and likeable—and very human with strengths and flaws. I also learned a Great deal about Hansen’s disease, leprosy; it’s treatment as well as the reaction of others to those with it. Highly recommend!

This is an age old tale about the miserable lives that many disease-disabled people have endured, through millenia, due to social ignorance and lack of scientific ways to cure their medical maladies. In this historical novel, the reader is take to Hawaii, specifically to the leper colony of Moloka'i, where the main character becomes trapped in an infected body that exiles her to a life of severe discrimination and fear about her disease. Being separated from her family is only the first of many devastating situations, on the isolated Hawaiian island but she learns to create a sense of family among the inmates of the diseased community.Over time, science and the socially-concerned take over the governing of the leper colony and some of the infected are cured of their disfiguring ailments, later returning to normal life within healthy communities. Some infected succumb to their disease and never regain their families and former lives. Throughout the plot, the heroine allows herself to become a subject for a scientific study and a possible cure for leprosy. Her actions become, in no small way, a means to eventually enact state laws that will financially, socially and emotionally support the colony, its inhabitants and the dedicated caregivers.The author offers a superb description of the devastating effects of leprosy, not only physically, but mentally, as its victims go through the stages of the disease. The original inmates of the colony have learned to give up hope of ever again, becoming a part of a normal family; of having the resources to cure their disease; of being in exile; and languishing in the intellectual wasteland, as they wait for a painful, lonely death.The characters are varied, the setting details are realistic and interesting and the story line is balanced with hope and despair, love and hate, joy and heartbreak, and the age-old struggle to not only cure diseases but to cure the general public's fear and loathing of those infected with such deadly illnesses. Even though leprosy has a modern cure and the world has generally accepted that the disease is not a lifelong sentence of suffering and death, the theme of the novel rings true today, since the "new" plagues are HIV-AIDS and Ebola, to name only two.Although this novel would never win a big literary prize, the author offers much hope and dignity to those who have, or currently do, suffer from a life-threatening, highly contagious disease. Besides being a well-documented and interesting story about American history, this novel makes the reader feel that there is some justice in this world and that it can be earned by those who believe they can affect medical research and social attitudes, if even in some small way.If you enjoy this novel, try The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama, which also delves into the topic of leprosy, in WWII Japan era.

Great book, a very touching story. Beautifully written. Very sad story that was also uplifting. Wonderful historical piece. Highly recommended.

I love historical fiction and I was totally unaware of The imprisoning of lepers on the island. It's a very moving story and I learned a lot.

There is no better way to learn historical fact than through a well-written, well-researched and engaging story. This is one of those books and you will get a true sense of what it must have been like for people with leprosy who lived on Moloka’i in the turn of the 20th century and beyond. Told through the story of a little girl who was sent to a leper colony on that island at a young age and what her experiences were, we are given a realistic glimpse into life what life was like there for these people shunned by society. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the sequel.

This book is about the way people with lepracy were treated in hawaii. It is something i never knew about until i read this book and while the story is fictional, there is a lot of historical facts in it. I especially couldn't believe that children, no matter their age, were sent to the island of lepers on their own! This book is about a young girl who this happens to, and her life on the island of Moloka'i. It is a stunning book, often sad but beautiful and funny also. A must read for everyone! I loved it.

This book is very touching and while reading it, I get homesick for the island.Danie - mahalo for the recommandation.Uncle Greg you must be proud that you knew Alan.

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A MUST read! This is a wonderful book. I can’t wait to read the sequel.