Moloka’i by Alan Brennert

This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai’i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place—and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.

Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka’i. Here her life is supposed to end—but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.

With a vibrant cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka’i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death. Such is the warmth, humor, and compassion of this novel that “few readers will remain unchanged by Rachel’s story.” (goodreads.com)

I liked this one.  It was a good rebound from the Georgia book that was disappointing. I love historical fiction. This is the second (I think) one from this genre that I’ve read in the Read the USA challenge.

I knew a little about the leper colony in Hawaii, but this book made me do more research. One of the things I like about historical fiction is that it brings a period of time to life in ways that informational text often doesn’t. The characters in this book were well-written; sometimes sympathetic, sometimes hard and unlikable.

Rachel’s story spans about 78 years. During that time she suffers from injustice, prejudice, and outright hatred from those she encounters who do not have Hansen’s disease. However, she is not one dimensional and neither is her life. She knows love, joy, and triumph. This book gives all the feels.

Sadly, too much of this book is likely true. The way people with leprosy were treated in the early part of the last century is tragic and, in some ways, barbaric – at least by today’s standards. I cannot imagine a world before antibiotics and a clearer understanding of the ways diseases are transmitted.

At the end of the book, the author’s notes detail the research done for writing the book. This is something I especially enjoy when included in historical fiction books. As I told my students for years, ethos is important.

It’s a fairly quick read. At only 384 pages, it took me just a couple of days.  If you consider this book for a book club, there are discussion questions included.

As is almost always true, I sourced this book from the Mariane Beck Library, part of the Lake County Library System.