This was a read for a newly formed book club and a certain hit. All loved the book ... well written, good descriptions and wonderful plot ...

Rachel, as leprosy patient, wife and mother, is a captivating character. She is smart and strong, yet vulnerable. Her life story held me from the first pages until the very last word.

This is one of my favorite books. The characters are rich and beautiful and the story captures you from the first line to the last.

Excelent!

Read long ago, and loved the follow up one as well.

I have circled this book a long time and finally read it at the request of the director of the library. And it was great, honestly. It was a fascinating story that caused me to go out beyond its walls looking for answers. Now I want to learn everything about Hawaii.

The interesting things we learn from historical fiction. I had no idea about this island for lepers. An amazing and sad but true tale.

Wow! This book was an instant favorite. A book about passion, love, despair, sacrifice, and leprosy told though the eyes of three characters. The prose is passionate, moves along at a breathy pace, organic and yet immaculately refined.

Amazing book. I couldn't put it down and, although historical fiction, it shows you the turmoil many Hawaiians felt being secluded or banished to this island.

It's a grim prognosis when you are diagnosed with leprosy and are shipped off to Moloka'i to live out your days there as the family shame, especially when you are a child of 7. This is Rachel's fate, just like her uncle who has preceded her to the colony on Moloka'i after his adult onset diagnosis. Rachel's newfound family cares for her and loves her as a daughter but she is so lonely for her real family. It is a community not unlike other communities except that the disease is a deft and swift killer. Rachel's father is a merchant seaman and visits whenever he can and writes her letters. Somehow, Rachel's leprosy grows slowly and when she comes of age she meets Kenji, a Japanese leper who falls in love with Rachel. Kenji and Rachel marry and have a daughter together knowing that their daughter will be taken from them immediately, before she contracts the disease. After sulfur drugs have been successfully treating leprosy for awhile, Rachel is allowed to leave the island and goes in search for her daughter that Rachel is sure will reject her for her leprosy. The tale is sad but not maudlin and filled with a lot of hope. It's a lovely story of a spunky resilient child grown into a woman of grace.

A lot of this book reads more like poetry than prose, and it is more stunning because of it. I have read other books about Molokai but this one about the early years of the colony and father Damien's influence on the lives of these people was beautifully crafted and created a complete story by looking at the events from three drastically different perspectives.

I found it a bit melodramatic, but I suppose the history lends itself to that.