"Moloka'i" by Alan Brennert. ****

• Book Club Selection
• US author
• Originally published 2004
• Setting:  The Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, home to a leper colony, late 1800s,
• Characters:  Rachel (7 year old banished due to leprosy), Henry (her father), Pono (her uncle, also with leprosy), Heleoa (adopted auntie on Moloka'i). Leilani (transvestite who becomes close friend)
• Quotes:
• p.3...."Later, when all she had was memory to sustain her she would come to cherish it; Old Honolulu, as it was then, as it would never be again.".....lovely opening line
• p.60... "sometimes it was called 'Moloka'i of the potent prayers', known for centuries as the home of powerful sorcerers capable of praying men to death, of sending giant fireballs hurtling across the sea, fiery planets of destruction seeking out hapless victims.  Today the island was still an object of fear and fascination, but for very different reasons."
• Historical tidbits:..."Sometimes it was called
• Father Damien and Mother Marianne Cope are both Saints in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church
• When USA decided to become a major naval force, they annexed Hawaii for strategic purposes
• 1865:  Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy,  http://www.nps.gov/kala/historyculture/1865.htm
• John Stevens:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Stevens, http://www.hawaii-nation.org/betrayal.html
• Robert Louis Stevenson did visit, wrote "Appointment on Molokai"
• Hawaii was 2nd sovereign nation to join the United States....Republic of Texas voted to do so, Hawaii was annexed
• Interesting items:
• The metaphor of the matryoshka dolls:  a life within a life
• I liked the phrase, used repeatedly, "story talking"
• Review:  This work of historical fiction was excellent.  The protagonist, whom the reader meets at age 7, is engaging, heartrending, strong, and very human.  The reader learns the history of Hawaii's annexation by the United States, learns about the leper colony on Moloka'i, and about what humans can endure with spirit, dignity, and integrity in tact.  The plot covers Rachel's lifetime as a leper, as a woman, and as a member of a community of people who lived with the horrible stigma of a disease which was not understood.  I was completely drawn into the story and kept shooing people away who attempted to bring me back to the present.  The book seemed easily analogous to the lives of HIV/Aids patients today.  Excellent read!
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