It is a story about a little girl who comes down with leprosy. Leprosy is a terrible disease and was at one point in time thought to be a communicable disease, a dirty disease, or just a disease the was plagued upon you for some wrong doing. But here is a little more about it:
Really a devastating disease if you ask me. But this story goes on to tell what the little girl’s life is like growing up in exile. The tragedy, triumph, the loneliness and the joy that she experiences while living on the island of Molaka’I.
A definite must read. I did tear up a little at the end, which is really no surprise because I cry at everything it seems.
Next book…
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Yet another wonderful historical novel. This time it take place in Nazi occupied Paris, France and it tells a story about the night of July 16th, 1942. This was know as the great round at the Velodrome d’Hiver, or Vel’ d’Hiv’ for short. It is absolutely heartbreaking what took place on this night.
In the wee hours of the morning, over 450 French policemen stormed the houses of all the listed Jewish families, rounded them up and marched them away in the middle of the night. They were taken to a large indoor facility with over 10,000 other Jewish people and held captive for a number of days. Little to no food or water, unsanitary conditions, and nothing but fear radiating through the walls. They were eventually let out, only to be taken to camps in the French countryside, and then transferred to Auschwitz, and gassed.
It is an absolutely heartbreaking story to hear what happened to these people. I do not recall ever hearing about such a terrible thing while in school. And I am a huge WWII buff, so to speak. It has really interested me to look into this more and learn about it.
But this story follows a little girl and a promise made to her brother. She is taken away in the night with her parents, leaving her brother behind. The story is also intertwined with an American journalist living in current day Paris doing a story on the 60th anniversary of the round-up. She soon discovers that the story of the little girl is over-lapping with her current life and family. She digs deeper to find the truth, even though she is repeatedly told there were no children who survived the time at the camps.
Like I said, I am a huge historical fiction novel lover, and a lover of all things WWII. I don’t know what it is about it, but I want to know everything about that time period…the good, the bad, and the terrible. It just blows my mind that something so horrible could have actually happened. I mean I know it did, but it is just so much it is hard to really imagine it.
Just a wonderful and heart wrenching novel that shows how a determined person clawed her way from the bottom to find a new life. And yet again...I got all teary eyed at the end...
Yay! So glad you liked Moloka'i! Doesn't it make you want to just jump on a plane and go to Hawaii like, yesterday? Alan Brennert's other book Honolulu is also excellent! I highly recommend! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat number are you guys on now?
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