Moloka'i

Young Rachel Kalama, growing up in idyllic Honolulu in the 1890s, is part of a big, loving Hawaiian family, and dreams of seeing the far-off lands that her father, a merchant seaman, often visits. But at the age of seven, Rachel and her dreams are shattered by the discovery that she has leprosy. Forcibly removed from her family, she is sent to Kalaupapa, the isolated leper colony on the island of Moloka'i.

In her exile she finds a family of friends to replace the family she's lost: a native healer, Haleola, who becomes her adopted "auntie" and makes Rachel aware of the rich culture and mythology of her people; Sister Mary Catherine Voorhies, one of the Franciscan sisters who care for young girls at Kalaupapa; and the beautiful, worldly Leilani, who harbors a surprising secret. At Kalaupapa she also meets the man she will one day marry.

True to historical accounts, Moloka'i is the story of an extraordinary human drama, the full scope and pathos of which has never been told before in fiction. But Rachel's life, though shadowed by disease, isolation, and tragedy, is also one of joy, courage, and dignity. This is a story about life, not death; hope, not despair. It is not about the failings of flesh, but the strength of the human spirit.

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In the late 19th century surrounded by the beauty of the islands of Hawaii, 7 year old Rachel Kalma lives an idyllic live surrounded by family members who adore her. While her father travels the world for his job, Rachel listens attentively to her father's stories and hopes one day to see the places her father vividly describes to her. Although there are some in their area who contract leprosy and are removed from the surroundings like Rachel's uncle, nobody ever thinks this disease will affect Rachel. Then she begins to show signs of a lesion which doesn't' respond to any of he mother's ministrations or medicine from the doctors. Eventually the authorities receive word that Rachel may have this disease and when they investigate Rachel, her families fears confirmed, she must leave her family to live among other lepers. Separated from her family except for occasional visits by her father and the company of her afflicted uncle, Rachel must make a new life for herself surrounded by an unusual cast of loving people. Adversity strengthens her as she comes to know the kind sister who cares for her, a fellow leper who hides a dark secret and the love of a good man whom she marries and even becomes a mother. By the end of this book, we weep with Rachel as friends die and cheer for her when she is able to fulfill some of her dreams. But the best part for me was that these were no longer characters in a book but people who I considered good friends, so vividly were they portrayed by the author.

Told over six decades, Moloka'i tells the gripping story of adversity and the triumph of the human spirit. As I neared the end of the book I couldn't help but think of how we once viewed AIDS sufferers isolating them in many of the same way lepers were also once isolated. The author has written a compelling book and one worthy to take its place among other titles on this subject like Betty Martin's books and The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama.

78 of 83 found the following review helpful:

"Will anyone remember these girls, other than you and me?"Oct 31, 2003
By Mary Whipple
This gripping novel is based on the author's serious research into the history of the Kalaupapa colony for suffers of leprosy (Hansen's disease) on Moloka'i. Brennert focuses on the human tragedy, both of individual sufferers and of their families who, suffering guilt by association, were ostracized by their neighbors and employers. But he also emphasizes the personal triumphs of these patients, recognizing their dignity and celebrating their achievements. Though a leper colony can never be free from profound sadness, Brennert avoids turning this novel into a ten-hanky tearjerker, focusing instead on the lives the patients create for themselves and on their attempts at normalcy.

Rachel Kalama, the main character, is a typical 5-year-old growing up in a loving family in Honolulu when her mother first sees a sore on Rachel's leg which will not heal. Although she keeps Rachel's condition a secret for a year, Rachel is eventully seized by the health inspector, who receives a bounty for capturing her, and sent to a secure Honolulu hospital. A year later, she is sent to Kalaupapa, on Moloka'i, and her isolation--at the age of seven--is total. The "family" she develops in Kalaupapa, her friendships with other young children, and her refusal to let the disease (or any of the nuns) control her spirit make her life bearable, and the reader will admire her pluck even while dreading what her future holds.

Yet Rachel is one of those in whom the disease develops very slowly, and her story continues through her teen years, her marriage, and well beyond. Through her, Brennert shows the history of the settlement, the history of treatment for Hansen's disease, and the history of Hawaii itself, including the seizure of the Queen and the annexation and colonization of the islands by the American sugar barons (events which clearly parallel Rachel's story). Brennert enriches his novel by incorporating events described in real documents and journals into his story, from its lawless, "wild West" atmosphere at the outset, to its final development as a "home" for the people who live there. He memorializes many real people among the fictional characters, including Robert Louis Stevenson.

Though there is melodrama and sentimentality here, and Rachel's life at Kalaupapa may be more rosy-colored than it was in reality, the emotion flows naturally from the subject and the author's desire to present the full historical record. Few readers will remain unchanged by Rachel's story. As one character says, "How we choose to live with pain, injustice, or death...is the true measure of the Divine within us." Mary Whipple

48 of 51 found the following review helpful:

Fifty Years on MolokaiSep 21, 2004
By L. Kelly
This amazing story caught me up in the first few pages. We meet seven-year old Rachel Kalama, youngest child in her Honolulu family. When she is discovered to have a small leprous sore on her leg, Rachel is snatched from the bosom of her family and sent first to be "cured" in the Kahili hospital in Honolulu. After a year in Kahili, she is then sent to the Kalaupapa leper colony on Molokai. The story of Rachel and her new family on Molokai is beautiful, inspirational and very uplifting.

Character development is very strong in this story. The figure of Sister Catherine Voorhies was perhaps my favorite of the whole story, as she deals with her own personal demons as well as her own doubts of "Why does God give children leprosy?" This story is so wonderful as Rachel and her new-found 'ohana (family) rise above their disease and find dignity and love in their isolated home.

Simply one of the most moving and enjoyable books I've read in a very long time.

58 of 66 found the following review helpful:

Falls a bit shortDec 23, 2008
By Elizabeth Hendry
Moloka'i is an interesting novel about a young Hawaiian leper, Rachel, banished, as it were, to a Kalaupapa, a quarantined colony on Moloka'I, at the turn of the last century, when leprosy was a relatively misunderstood disease. The notion of the colony is fascinating and the devastation one instance of leprosy can do to one young woman and her family is rife with possibilities. Unfortunately, the novel tries to accomplish too much while not doing enough. Rachel's entire life is encompassed in this novel, yet the focus is disproportionately on her earlier years, where as a young child, the depth of her emotions is left unexplored. As she grows older, when her emotions could truly come into play, Brennert leapfrogs from event to event in Rachel's life and awkwardly ties the World War II Japanese camps to Kalaupapa. I felt almost as if Brennert began the novel with the intent of crafting a sweeping saga, but that he somehow lost steam halfway through and began to take narrative shortcuts. Moloka'i is certainly an interesting and engaging novel, but Brennert fails to draw enough of an emotional connection to Rachel. I just wish he could have done more.

16 of 16 found the following review helpful:

UnvbelievableNov 11, 2005
By Suzann M. Sylvester "Suzann"
In my wildest dreams I would never have picked up a book about leprosy, but this was unbelievable. The book weaves history through a girl's own ordeal with the disease. You learn a lot about Hawaii's development and how they dealt with an illness for which they had no immunity. The author does a wonderful job in catching glimpses of life while the islands' dealt in erradicating this from the masses. EXCEPTIONAL!!!!

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