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The selection for my library reading group for June is Moloka'i by Alan Brennert. I started reading it a couple of weeks ago because I thought it might take me awhile to get through it. It is not extremely long but it did not appear to be a quick read type book. Surprisingly I read it more quickly than I thought I would. It is an historical novel which is always my favorite genre. The story is about a youngster who is found to have leprosy in the later 19th century. She lives in Hawaii and is taken from her family and placed on a leper island. This book can be enjoyed from the historical perspective but it also can be enjoyed from the sociological perspective because of the detail it describes of the interaction of the people of the island along with the social structures that emerge. In addition the psychological perspective is an interesting one because of the way that the people on the island deal with their limitations. I have never been to Hawaii and was unaware of this history. After doing some research I was also surprised to learn that this was one of two leper colonies that used to be in the United States, the other one being in Louisiana. The main character in this novel is used as a medium to express what many went through. It is a book that sounds like it would be depressing but while I did get teary eyed a few times it is a story that also resonates with joy. People go there and live and love and grow and get married just like anywhere. There they are more aware of their impending death than some of us but it seems to make them enjoy the present all the more. Please feel free to click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information. Also enjoy the video that follows:
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