Rating: 
Summary: FANTASTIC
Review: A beautiful story, extremely well-written, filled with great historical information. A great read!
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC
Review: A beautiful story, extremely well-written, filled with great historical information. A great read!
Rating:
Summary: Legend, buried history, and fiction.
Review: A book that tells a story, opens up an overlooked piece of the world and its history, and acts as a launching point for looking up more details, more information. Alan Brennert's MOLOKA'I is such a book.The book's handling of the myths, legends, and magics of the Hawai'ian people had the same strong feeling for me that I get when I learn of all the raw deals the American Indians were dealt. The near loss of an ancient & unique culture and its replacement by Western values. And the massive devastation of their population through exposure to Western disease. Through reading this book I've developed new awareness of leprosy (Hansen's disease) and how widespread it is even to this day. Even with treatments available. The amazing parallels of the lives of "lepers" in exile, the exile of the Japanese from their homes after Pearl Harbor (in California at least). This book neatly laid its arcs early and closed them just as neatly at the end. Everything comes full circle. And not everyone has a happy-ending. And now, I think, a trip to Moloka'i someday soon.
Rating:
Summary: Moloka'i
Review: A five-star achievement! Once I started reading the story of Rachel Kalama, I could not put the book down. The depth and feeling expressed had me tearing up periodically throughout. Sentimental in the feeling of family and friends-as-family without being corny or maudlin. What I think I like the best was the sense that you could grasp the spirituality and physical presence of Hawaii, making you feel as though you were right there. The next time I go to Hawaii will definetely include a visit to Molokai.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: A wonderful story! When I first heard about the subject matter I was a little nervous. (How much fun can a leper colony be?) However,I was totally blown away! Rachel is one of the best written characters that I have ever read. Although her journey from child to women takes place under trying circumstances, her story speaks to us all! I highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Another time, another place
Review: Brennert pens an incredibly touching tale of a little girl condemned to a terrible hell, and of her own struggle to find a life of her own within that prison. Brennert's characters shine through the difficult burdens placed on them to display a moving humanity, hope forging through even the darkest pit. A beautifully written (and well-researched) tale of another time and another place, brought to a very absorbing life. More, please !
Rating:
Summary: Made me cry with angst at missing Hawaii.
Review: How can a ha'ole (said with aloha) guy in Southern California have written this book? It's the stuff my aunties used to tell me. His research must have been really good. As a Hawaiian living on the mainland, I rarely think of the old days in Hawaii but this man brought it back and in a book about the leper colony, imagine! Buy this book. You won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Moloka'i - A Stunning Surprize
Review: I bought Moloka'i on a whim not knowing a thing about the storyline. I was drawn into the lives and feelings of the characters during the first chapters and became involved and immersed, in every sense, in their world. I can not remember having such an emotional stake in the lives of the characters of a novel, but Mr. Brennert's creation became reality for me as I read. Absolutely stunning and the best book I've read in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: Moloka'i
Review: I found this book hard to put down. I didn't want it to end. Alan Brennert's Rachel was so real. A very young girl taken away from her family because she had leprosy lives her life among many other victims of the disease. She is fortunate in some aspects as she could live on the island of Moloka'i and have contact with an uncle who also had the disease. It was fascinating to read about her growing up, falling in love and coping. I hope Mr. Brennert is working on another book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story...Great Writing
Review: I quickly became enthralled with this moving depiction of Rachel's life. Historical authenticity combined with a richly imagined story makes this novel a compelling drama on many levels. Brennert's use of imagery is superb. It's easy to visualize the reality of the setting, from the lush island areas to the harsh cliff barriers that are so important to Rachel's story. Her valiant attempt to stay grounded in a chaotic world is only one example of Brennert's gift of empathy. It's so refreshing to find a novel as interesting and well written this one. If you're going to add any book to your personal library this year, make it Molokai.
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