Spoiler Alert: if you haven't finished reading this month's book club book: Moloka'i then don't read any further!!!
I just finished this book over the weekend.
I will first give you a few of my thoughts and then I'll post some questions and as always, please feel free to leave your own comments about the book.
Before I do that, just a quick reminder: even if you didn't like this book (or any book in our book club for that matter) THAT'S OKAY. Sometimes a book speaks to you and sometimes it doesn't but discussing a book isn't only for when we LOVE the book. Of course, that is a perk as a reader, but not necessary. I believe that by reading books you may not have thought to pick up before and reading it along with other people here that you grow and learn and isn't that a GREAT thing? Yes, it is. :)
I truly enjoyed this book. If I could give half marks on Good Reads I would have given this a solid 3.5 stars. I was completely engrossed by Rachel's life and her story, which on the surface was so incredibly tragic, and yet through this incredible will she turned it around and had a VERY satisfying, rich, happy life. I was inspired and moved.
I almost couldn't read further when that poor little girl was sent away from her family to live alone in some far off island! And, in most cases whenever I read a historical novel I always want to go back and read the actual account of the events. Obviously so logic in the nineteenth century and so unheard of a century later! (Honestly, I think if I had to make that choice I would have RUN with my children until they stopped looking similar to what Dorothy ended up doing with her other son when they discovered the red marks on him shortly after Rachel was sent away.)
The only issue I would take with the book are these: (and PLEASE feel free to openly discuss if you agree or disagree...that is what a book club is all about! It will not hurt my feelings).
1. I felt the "voice" of young Rachel to be way older than her seven years. The feelings, the emotions, the maturity of it all felt unbelievable. I kept imagining my eight year old daughter and thinking no way would those thoughts cross her mind. Once she became a teenager I felt the writer was right on with Rachel's voice. But, in the very beginning, it felt too mature for such a young little girl.
2. For me it was obvious the author wasn't Hawaiian. Now, I'm not saying that you have to be in order to write a book like this...and I understand his passion and desire to learn all he could and I later read in the back of the book that he visited Hawai'i many, many times. But, there was this tiny little lack of that knowledge that only comes with being a true native.
This was a line from the book that made me laugh and it will appear on my main blog soon:
The young woman stared blankly at them. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, "and I don't care! Young ladies, especially sisters, do not fight like cats and dogs in the street." The teacher was obviously an only child.
How true is that line?
Anyway, back to the story...
I loved the discussions of God. My favorite was when Sister Catherine asked Sister Victor as they sipped sweet wine, "Why does God give children leprosy?" and Sister Victor replied, "To test faith, of course."
To test faith. As sad as that sounds, it definitely touched a nerve in me. How many times have we said, "why? Why does God do this or that?" To test faith. Powerful.
I was blown away by the degree of tragedy Rachel experienced in her lifetime and yet she continued to get up, dust herself off, and go forward. She had incredible energy and determination and I admired her will to keep going, keep seeing beauty in her surroundings, and most importantly LIVING LIFE to the fullest she could. I wish I could say I do that!
And, of course, the parts that made me cry the hardest (did you not just cry throughout this entire book?) was the scenes that dealt with Rachel and her Papa. What a special relationship father and daughter had and it moved me every time. And when she was finally buried with that one handmade doll her father made for her?! OMG, I was balling.
I sort of was hoping that her father would have made the choice to live on Moloka'i with Rachel. He could have and even though it meant giving up his freedom and possible health, it seemed that being with his daughter was even more important to him than seeing the world or traveling on his beloved ships.
What did you think of Henry and his "lies" about Rachel's siblings? Did he really know the truth but decided to keep it from Rachel so she wouldn't feel more guilt/sadness, etc.? Or was he just completely out of the picture? Sarah had indicated that they hadn't talked at all so did he even know that one of his son's had died?
When I read that Rachel was pregnant I immediately thought I would abort it and not bring a life into that nightmare, especially if the babies are taken away...but, was moved when Rachel and Kenji decided that a part of them would have freedom. What do you think you would have done in that situation?
I was always hoping she would get off that island and part of me wondered if she even had Leprosy because she seemed to never show the many signs the others had. I can't imagine living while I watched, one by one, everyone I knew die...
I'm going to bullet a few thoughts because there are so much to talk about!
- One of my favorite scenes was when she was reunited with Sarah and the love they shared, and had always shared, and was taken away from them.
- Not sure what the purpose was of Sister Catherine going back to New York to visit her brother...seemed like a strange scene to me...and pointless.
- Sad that Rachel's family broke apart when Rachel was shipped away and yet shows what that amount of stress does to relatiosnhips.
- I thought the whole part with Rachel finding her daughter happened a little too easily...but, nonetheless, I enjoyed the entire exchange and was so thrilled when Rachel was able to see her daughter after all those years. And then equally crushed listening to Ruth's story during WWII...and will shamelessly admit that while Manzanar was familiar from the many war stories I heard from my dad...I was unaware of the treatment of the Japanese living in the United States at the time of the war.
- I could have sworn that I had read Leilani's name before in the story but after searching realized I must have been dreaming. Anyone else catch that? (Okay, just me!) And what a kick in the pants that character was! Can you imagine living that way in the late nineteenth century? Did you, as a reader, regard Leilani as a man or a woman?
- Oh my goodness! The birthday presents! I figured that is what they were doing when Rachel put the hair brush in a drawer but when she presented them to Ruth...very moving scene...what an incredible show of love that Ruth had wondered about her birth mother...I loved how Ruth felt nothing but love. How beautiful is that?
- Who thought Rachel was allowing herself to die when she moved in with her sister and decided to take a dip and "go home" in the ocean?
- In the end I absolutely thought Rachel lived an incredibly happy, rich, fully fulfilled life! She goes on to travel for the next twenty years of her life?! Wow. Exactly what she wanted to do.
Here are some book club questions...feel free to answer one, three, or all of them...
1. Given what was known at the time of the causes and contagion of leprosy, was the Hawaiian government's isolation of patients on Moloka'i justified or not?
2. What does surfing represent to Rachel?
3. Discuss the parallels and inversions between the tale of heroic mythology Rachel relates on pages 296-298, and what happens to Kenji later in this chapter (for those that don't have the book anymore, this is the chapter where Rachel discovers comic books for the first time and then tells the children the tale of Hina, son of a goddess, and a mortal man...and also where Kenji fights the solider next door).
4. The novel tells us a little, but not all, of what Sarah Kalama feels after her accidental betrayal of her sister Rachel. Imagine what kind of feelings and personal growth she might have gone through in the decades following this incident.
5. In what ways is Ruth like her biological mother? How do you envision her relationship with Rachel evolving and maturing in the twenty years between 1948 and 1970?
14. Considering the United States role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, was the American response adequate or not? In recent years a "Hawaiian sovereignty" movement has gathered momentum in the islands...do you feel they have a moral and/or legal case?
Stay tuned! Tomorrow I will announce the latest book in our ABC Book Club: the letter C.
Keep reading!
