The book was sent to me by the very kind dovegreyreader because I mentioned that I was looking for another book with which to compare The Island.
Well it comes out of the comparison very well indeed. I have difficulty putting down any book once I’ve started it - something of a failing in me so I end up ploughing through books that haven’t left any real mark. I like to feel I’ve spent the time well whether being entertained, informed or had my horizons expanded/boundaries pushed in some way. Moloka’i most definitely has been worthwhile.
There are one or two things I would quibble with. I kept finding I was surprised by the date in which it was set – there was no sense of period and I found I had no idea how people would be dressed, while swimming or surfing for instance. Descriptions and scene setting seemed a little lacking: I never did discover what a pali was, though I guessed it must be a cliff, I had no feeling for what the place looked like. Although the characters were far better drawn than those in The Island, they didn’t develop as much as I had hoped.
One difficulty I had, which was no fault of the book, was that I found the Hawaiian names hard to pronounce. I always have to be able to pronounce words to be able to read fluently and I kept coming to a stop and inwardly debating how they should sound. Friends have told me they are able to la-la-la when they get to a name like that (they seem to proliferate in sci-fi) but no, I have to stop and work it out each time.
Nevertheless it had a great many plus points. It doesn’t pull any punches in describing the ravages of leprosy; I learnt more about leprosy that I did from The Island; i t has made me aware of a Hawaiian culture, something I know nothing whatever about (I really must look up information about surfing); there were historical references which I would like to follow up, such as the visits from Robert Louis Stevenson and Mark Twain.
Although it couldn’t be described as great literature, I would recommend it. It has a lot going for it and is a great deal more moving and satisfying than The Island.
Well it comes out of the comparison very well indeed. I have difficulty putting down any book once I’ve started it - something of a failing in me so I end up ploughing through books that haven’t left any real mark. I like to feel I’ve spent the time well whether being entertained, informed or had my horizons expanded/boundaries pushed in some way. Moloka’i most definitely has been worthwhile.
There are one or two things I would quibble with. I kept finding I was surprised by the date in which it was set – there was no sense of period and I found I had no idea how people would be dressed, while swimming or surfing for instance. Descriptions and scene setting seemed a little lacking: I never did discover what a pali was, though I guessed it must be a cliff, I had no feeling for what the place looked like. Although the characters were far better drawn than those in The Island, they didn’t develop as much as I had hoped.
One difficulty I had, which was no fault of the book, was that I found the Hawaiian names hard to pronounce. I always have to be able to pronounce words to be able to read fluently and I kept coming to a stop and inwardly debating how they should sound. Friends have told me they are able to la-la-la when they get to a name like that (they seem to proliferate in sci-fi) but no, I have to stop and work it out each time.
Nevertheless it had a great many plus points. It doesn’t pull any punches in describing the ravages of leprosy; I learnt more about leprosy that I did from The Island; i t has made me aware of a Hawaiian culture, something I know nothing whatever about (I really must look up information about surfing); there were historical references which I would like to follow up, such as the visits from Robert Louis Stevenson and Mark Twain.
Although it couldn’t be described as great literature, I would recommend it. It has a lot going for it and is a great deal more moving and satisfying than The Island.
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