NOW A LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER | NAMED A BEST/MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY: USA Today • BookRiot • BookBub • LibraryReads • OC Register • Never Ending VoyageThe highly anticipated sequel to Alan Brennert’s acclaimed book club favorite, and national bestseller, Moloka’i“A novel of illumination and affection.” —USA Today Alan Brennert’s beloved novel Moloka’i, currently has over 600,000 copies in … national bestseller, Moloka’i
“A novel of illumination and affection.” —USA Today
Alan Brennert’s beloved novel Moloka’i, currently has over 600,000 copies in print. This companion tale tells the story of Ruth, the daughter that Rachel Kalama—quarantined for most of her life at the isolated leprosy settlement of Kalaupapa—was forced to give up at birth.
The book follows young Ruth from her arrival at the Kapi’olani Home for Girls in Honolulu, to her adoption by a Japanese couple who raise her on a strawberry and grape farm in California, her marriage and unjust internment at Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II—and then, after the war, to the life-altering day when she receives a letter from a woman who says she is Ruth’s birth mother, Rachel.
Daughter of Moloka’i expands upon Ruth and Rachel’s 22-year relationship, only hinted at in Moloka’i. It’s a richly emotional tale of two women—different in some ways, similar in others—who never expected to meet, much less come to love, one another. And for Ruth it is a story of discovery, the unfolding of a past she knew nothing about. Told in vivid, evocative prose that conjures up the beauty and history of both Hawaiian and Japanese cultures, it’s the powerful and poignant tale that readers of Moloka’i have been awaiting for fifteen years.
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I found this book to be very interesting which revealed a history of what happened to Americans of Japanese descent during WWII. A real eye opener. Good read especially since history is not taught very well today.
This is something to be known lest it happen again.
After reading Moloka’i (about the mother of this heroine and the reality of life in Hawai’i for those with Hansen’s Disease) this also took a little publicized piece of history to highlight a number of perspectives on the Japanese internment in California during WWII. Whether you are just learning about these events, it is seeing the different perspectives that was a real eye-opener. Nothing is simply black and white, and there are no easy answers. Different situation today, but lots of parallels.
We have heard a great deal about the Holocaust, but I’ve learned little about the time during WWII about the Japanese people being put in detention camps. Sad, but true. Well written.
It was a lovely surprise to enjoy “Daughter of Molokai” as much as I enjoyed “Molokai”—-which I thoroughly enjoyed. They are both excellent book club choices.
I’ve been anticipating reading this book since the day I finished reading Rachel’s heartbreaking story in Moloka’i. Daughter of Moloka’i is the story of Ruth, the baby that Rachel was forced to give up at birth. Rachel was quarantined at an isolated settlement for people with leprosy and not allowed to keep her baby. After 5 years in a home for girls Ruth is adopted by a Japanese couple and moves to California. Life takes a few unexpected turns for both Rachel and Ruth and eventually, many years later, they are reunited. I enjoy reading historical fiction and was captivated by the Japanese American experience during WWII as well as the devastating hardships faced by the victims of leprosy. At times-wrenching and tragic this book is also joyful and uplifting and I’m so glad I got to read it.
I do realize that my opinion and review is totally outlier. I totally respect all the 4 and 5 star reviews that are out there, but that was not my experience with this book and I cannot, in good faith, write a review that matches the masses when that is not my experience.
I L O V E D Moloka’i. Loved it. What a beautiful, lush, amazing book. I was completely captivated from the first page and while I have loved Hawaii for years [my grandparent’s took multiple trips there and always brought us back gifts and stories and several of my favorite books are set there and one of the first biographies I ever read as a young girl was about the last Queen of Hawaii], but I actually knew little about Moloka’i and Kalaupapa and all that went on for the poor people who developed Leprosy. So while it was an amazing book, it was also educational and made me want to book a trip to Hawaii to be able to and pay my respects to the people that suffered and lived there.
Fast forward to Daughter of Moloka’i [which, in all fairness, was not even on my radar. My bestie read Moloka’i and then found out about the sequel and strong-armed me convinced me [strongly] to read Moloka’i and request Daughter of Moloka’i to read with her], which I was pretty excited to dive into since I had just finished Moloka’i and was still awash in the glow and hangover that came from reading that book. And so I started and well….it was just meh. And I thought, “Okay, its just a slow start, that is okay”, and then I was at 40% and I still felt that way and I checked in with my friend and she was where I was too and we were like “what the HECK went wrong?”, and that feeling just continued as I read on.
To quote my friend Joy Walsh “I believe Brennert likes Rachel much more than he likes Ruth.” and I agree with that. The story of Rachel just flows and sucks you in while the story of Ruth feels like its being forced and seems flat and disingenuous until she meets Rachel and when they are back in Hawaii and then, and ONLY then, does the story begin to flow again. All the time in California is very flat and one dimensional. Even the time spent in the interment camps [and I have read 4 books before this about that time – it is HORRIFIC and should absolutely have never happened and is a huge stain on this country that we are still dealing and healing from – IF you want an excellent book about this time, I suggest “When the Emperor Was Divine” by Julie Otsuka or IF you can find it {I found one copy on Thriftbooks, but I have seen it in the Reader’s Digest version on eBay} “East and West” by Gerald Green <--THAT was the first book I read about the Japanese Interments and as a young girl I was absolutely and completely horrified] was bland - tepid. For all the research the author did on this time in history, there is little evidence of it in what and how he writes about that time and that is very disappointing. I am sure that just as I knew nothing about Moloka'i and Kalaupapa, there are people who know nothing of that time in our history and this would have been an amazing opportunity to shed some true light on what happened during that time and instead you get a tepid and bland experience. And then you get a totally gimmicky [and it is not the first time in the book that gimmicky writing is used] end and that was totally disappointing as well. It is always disappointing when you get a sequel to a book you loved and that sequel falls flat. That is absolutely what happened for me here. No book hangover. No even thinking about the book. Just relief that the book is done and I can move on. And that, makes me very sad. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book parallels the characters in Alan Brennert’s haunting Molokai. It tells the story of a child born to lepers isolated on the Hawaiian colony of Molokai. At birth her parents are forced to give up the baby to adoption to prevent the spread of the disfiguring disease of her parents. It breaks their hearts, but we see the path Baby Ruth takes as an adopted child, well loved, but completely unaware of the circumstances of her birth. Poignant, emotional, informative in the realistic setting of 1920s to 1970s America life for persons of Japanese Ethnicity. Very enlightening.
I appreciate the research of Alan Brennert. I loved Moloka’i and really appreciate Alan’s new book. Amazing story of Rachel’s daughter Ruth. So many themes—mother-daughter relationships, sacrifice, effects of war, resilience…..Great book for a bookclub.
Loved it!
I didn’t think I could like this book better than Molokai, but I would say I enjoy them both equally, and both are going to be on my list of top ten going forward. Trust me and read these excellent and well-researched novels.
I loved this book as well as Moloka’i, Honolulu. I love the islands and try to read about them whenever I can.
It is a very good book, well written and well researched. While it is a novel, the events of the time are real. An eye-opener for me. I would suggest reading Moloka’i first as this book is a continuation of that story.
His first book was much much better, this kind of drags and referenced, his first book.
Daughter of Molokai is rich in historical detail, with the leper colony on Molokai, World War II, Japanese internment camps, and racial discrimination, they are all backdrops which this novel is written. The characters are beautifully drawn, the emotions are deeply felt, and the story of love, honor and respect is very uplifting. I loved everything about this book, I highly recommended reading this beautiful story.
Wonderful sequel to another favorite, Molokai.
Will reread this book, so much information. Learned a lot
I really enjoyed this book. Having been on Moloka’i a couple of times, I could relate to the Hawaii portion of this book. Although I had never been to the Kalapaupa Peninsula, I knew of what happened there. I had just finished reading the book Moloka’i and could not wait to read Daughter of Moloka’i. I was not disappointed!!
I thought this book was terrific . I felt like I knew the characters personally and I felt their pain and betrayal. Not only did I enjoy the storyline but I also learned so much about the war and the unjust treatment of Japanese by the United States. I received this novel from netgalley and the book publisher in exchange for an honest review .
This is the follow up novel to the great “Molokai” and it is a very good sequel. It’s about Ruth, the daughter of Rachel of the first novel, and her life in California with her adopted family. Especially haunting is the section of the story that takes place in the Manzanar internment camp for Japanese Americans during the war. Highly recommended.
The best sequel to one of the greatest novels , Molokai, I have ever read and I am avid reader at 77 years old.