Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Genre: historical fiction
Review: Alan Brennert doesn't pull his punches when it comes to some of the more shameful aspects of history. In Moloka'i he explored the segregation of Hansen's Disease patients in Hawai'i, through the eyes of Rachel Kalama who was removed from her family and sent to the leper colony on Moloka'i at a young age. Now, in Daughter of Moloka'i, Brennert tells the story of Ruth, the daughter Rachel was forced to give up for adoption. And his unstinting gaze falls on the racism against Japanese immigrants and the Japanese internment camps of WWII.
As always, Brennert's gaze falls beyond the immediate drama to give us the full and rich sweep of a life. Ruth's life is fully imagined, from her time in an orphanage and her dreams of finding a family to her happiness with her adopted parents and brothers to the hardships they faced as farmers in rural California to their internment and beyond. Once Rachel is re-introduced into the narrative, it is fascinating to watch Brennert tell the same story, even many of the exact same scenes, but told from Ruth's perspective. Reading the books back-to-back turns them into a wonderfully faceted multi-generational story that is a pleasure to read.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
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