Moloka'i
A Novel
ISBN10: 0312304358
ISBN13: 9780312304355
Trade Paperback
416 Pages
$19.00
CA$25.00
Rachel Kalama is a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl who dreams of traveling to far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. When a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, those dreams are no longer possibilities. Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here, separated from her home and family, her life is supposed to end. Instead, Rachel discovers it is only beginning. With a cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka'i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death.
Reviews
Praise for Moloka'i
"Moloka'i is a haunting story of tragedy in a Pacific paradise."—Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek
"Alan Brennert draws on historical accounts of Kalaupapa and weaves in traditional Hawaiian stories and customs . . . Moloka'i is the story of people who had much taken from them but also gained an unexpected new family and community in the process."—Chicago Tribune
"Brennert evokes the evolution of—and hardships on—Moloka'i in engaging prose that conveys a strong sense of place."—National Geographic Traveler
"Brennert's compassion makes Rachel a memorable character, and his smooth storytelling vividly brings early twentieth-century Hawai'i to life."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)