Thiệu Bảo Bình Nguyên 03: Sơn Hà Rực Lửa tải về miễn phí cuốn sách

Domenico Marenghi mdac — Moloka’i, written by Alan Brennert, is a historical fiction about the “leper colony” in Kalaupapa on the island Moloka’i, part of Hawaii. The story begins with 5 year old Rachel Kalama in Honolulu in 1891. She has many brothers and sisters and loving parents. However, she contracts leprosy and a sore develops on her leg. After many failed medical attempts to heal the sore, her mother realizes what it signifies and chooses to cover it up. For a year she is able to successfully hide it, but word of it slips and a health inspector seizes Rachel, receiving a bounty in return. Rachel is sent to a hospital for a time, but inevitably sent to Kalaupapa becoming completely isolated from the world and family she knew. At this time she was only seven. Being forced into a new environment, Rachel persists to control her life and establishes a new family with the other “lepers” who lives there and the nuns who work there. Of course, Rachel experiences immense sadness with her condition, but she also experiences joy and love with the people around her. The story does not become one of despair or tragedy or death, as it easily could have, but focuses on the people who lived there, and their spirit and life. The conflict man versus society brings about the main conflict of man versus himself, as the characters combat their feelings of inferiority and hopelessness. Though cliché, I find the theme: live life fully, regardless of the circumstances, restrictions, or hurdles imposed. Although the “lepers” were treated like poisonous snakes, looked down upon and immediately confined, many “lepers” live better lives than can be said about many “normal” people. Rachel and the other characters, who are composite characters based on real people and their stories, do not let the discrimination hinder their life, while others could easily give up in self-pity. This theme serves as a good reminder to me. Often I stress out over school or college and feel that we all waste a third of our lives in school. I need to remember how truly fortunate I actually am and this book is a needed reminder to stay optimistic. Alan Brennert writes in the third person to be omniscient and include the history of Hawaii, leprosy treatment, and of the Kalaupapa “leper colony”, which would be fragmented if told from Rachel’s view. He also includes real documents and journals in his story. He writes like he is commenting on events though, making the reading somewhat boring, whereas if it was written in first person I would feel more connection with Rachel. Although still a sad story, I like that Brennert did not write a tragedy dwelling on leprosy, as many authors do with books about segregation, war, genocide, etc. I picked this book because it had good reviews and seemed interesting, which it was. I enjoyed it, despite my avoidance of depressing topics, and would recommend this to anyone curious about Hawaii or the history of leprosy there.