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| Rating: 4/5 Pages: 384 |
Moloka'i is centered around a Hawaiian seven year old girl called Rachel who lives in Honolulu. However whilst living there she contracts leprosy ( also known as Hansen's disease). Rachel is forced to be sent to the island Molokai within Hawaii to a leprosy settlement camp in Kalaupapa. There the only person she knows is her Uncle who was sent there before her also diagnosed with leprosy. This book is fiction however it is based off of true events. Between 1866 and 1969 Kalaupapa did have a settlement camp and people still live there today but there are no active cases of the disease.
Throughout this book we see Rachel grow up on Molokai from the age of 7 all the way up to old age. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book as you really connected and grew up with the character. This book follows Rachel as she comes to terms with her condition, how she deals with it and even how she tries to cure it.
When Rachel first moves to Molokai' she is forced to stay in a convent with other underage girls rather than with her uncle. This infuriates Rachel as he is the only familiar person to her on the island and she even risks her life one night to go and visit him.
One main theme for me in this book is death as it heavily features throughout. Her uncle is just one of many people she has to say goodbye to throughout her life. The other theme that stuck out for me was family, not only does Rachel leave all her family behind but she learns to create friendships with people on Molokai that then become family to her despite not being blood relatives.
One relationship that grew throughout the book and became more valued was that of Rachel and Sister Catherine who she first met aged seven at the convent. They started out not on the best of terms but as Rachel grows older they start to become friends and Rachel even saves her from committing suicide.
Due to the long time span of this book we see the introduction of a lot of technology, for example: planes, moving pictures and electricity in homes. We also get an inside view of what it was like for Hawaiians during the Pearl Harbour attack.
At times I did find it a little hard to take in all the native Hawaiian words and I think it would of been really helpful for there to of been a dictionary at the back for if you forget what a word means.
If you haven't read the book or are intending to then DON'T read on as the rest of the post contains spoilers.
Rachel meets a man called Kenji and they end up getting married and having a baby girl called Ruth. However to prevent their baby from contacting leprosy they have to give her up for adoption within hours of being birthed.
Rachel had to be tested 6 negative times for leprosy in order to be able to leave the island. When this eventually did happen late in life Rachel went in search for her family. She first found one of her aunts who basically shuts the door in her face and doesn't want to know her or to be reminded of what happened to their family.
She then found her sister Sarah who was more than happy to see her. Sadly one of her brothers also contracted leprosy at a young age and died quickly, therefore they thought Rachel would of also shared the same fate.
However what Rachel wants most is to find her daughter who she finds living in California. Her daughter Ruth was shocked when she heard her birth mother had Leprosy but was also pleased to learn her mother really had no other option but to give her up as the government forced Rachel and Kenji to.
The book ends with Ruth and her daughter attending her mother's funeral in Honolulu. It was nice that Ruth was able to see where her Mother grew up and too see how different it is to the United States.
Overall I was really pleased with this book and I feel a lot more educated on what went on at that time in Hawaii and how people had to deal with leprosy and all the prejudice families faced when a member of their family contracted it. I found it really refreshing to read as it's like nothing I've ever read before.
Below is the review I filmed over on my Youtube page:
I hope you enjoyed this recap and review of the book.
So until next time, Sophie x
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