My rating: 4/5
Historical fiction about lepers. Not exactly a book I would have chosen on my own, but this was last month’s selection for my book club. Surprisingly, I am actually very glad that I read this. Before reading this, I knew very little of Hawaiian history (other than it’s currently a US state), Moloka’i, or leprosy.
Moloka’i is set in the late 1800s to early 1900s and tells the story of Rachel, a young girl diagnosed with leprosy and banished from Oahu to Moloka’i. While the character of Rachel is fictional, many of the characters were real people or based on real people. Moloka’i, and Kalaupapa, the quarantined leper settlement are all real.
What struck me most about this novel is the idea of compassion. The nuns and religious folk in Kalaupapa risked their lives, spent years (or decades) away from their own family and loved ones, all to help aid those there against their own will. This is in stark contrast to the general public, officials, and even the families of many of the victims, who go to great lengths to pretend Kalaupapa doesn’t exist, to shun those there, to erase them from memory.
Heartbreaking, and yet heartwarming, this was not an easy book to read. There are detailed depictions of children suffering and dying from leprosy and many other painful parts.
Is what they did right? Did these people need to be quarantined? I believe that at the time, they made the best decision available based on the best facts available to them. However, quarantine should not equal prison, and should not equal neglect, abuse, mistreatment, etc. The people of Kalaupapa seemed to suffer all of those things and more.
Today, the disease is known as Hansen’s disease, to distinguish from biblical leprosy. It is considered a treatable disease, and while contagious, a person receiving or having completed treatment is considered free from active infection.
How would you react if someone you knew had Hansen’s disease? I am not sure what I would do, but I would hope to respond with compassion and kindness.
This was a really good book! I liked it. It was pretty sad though….
I think I’d be fine if I knew someone with Hansen’s.