Moloka'i by Alan Brennert is a terribly heart-wrenching story. At the age of 7, Rachel Kalama contracts leprosy and is sent into quarantine on the island of Moloka'i. She is separated from her family including her father whom she is very close to.
Rachel experiences many loses during her time on the island, each one heart-breaking for its own reasons. Yet she remains strong and steadfast in the belief that she will be "cured" and be able to leave Moloka'i.
While the story is compelling, the writing is weak in some places and over-wrought in others. And toward the end, you start to wonder how much one person can really take and remain positive. Maybe living with leprosy and surrounded by other lepers and death makes one more able to deal with it all, but I didn't want to be immune to it even if only in a novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment