Lance Greenfield's Reviews > Moloka'i

Isn't that a beautiful cover? I loved this book.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I must get around to reading this book.

Janet wrote: "Isn't that a beautiful cover? I loved this book.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did."

I don't know how much you enjoyed it, Janet, but I would guess that my enjoyment was close to yours. My wife doesn't understand how I could enjoy a book so much, when it made me weep buckets!

This is on my list. I've suggested it to my book club, but we have many suggestions and few meetings, so if my book club doesn't choose it, I'll have to try to get to it on my own asap/in 2010.

There are some questions and comments at the end of the book, which are there to help book clubs.

Lance wrote: "There are some questions and comments at the end of the book, which are there to help book clubs."

Probably in the paperback edition only. That's true of many paperback editions. But thanks! For book clubs I find the best place to find discussion questions for many books is readinggroupguides.com.

Lance, Yes I cried so much while reading this book it did feel like buckets. I had to stop reading at times cause I couldn't see to read any longer.Had to wait for my eyes to clear so I could start reading again. All the issues that stem from fear of a disease and the poor treatment of those people. Unreal...
Good job Lance!

I have wwnted to read this one for a while too. Maybe I should bump it up a bit on the TBR pile, because it has been so long and you really seemed to enjoy it, Lance.

Meg ♥ wrote: "I have wwnted to read this one for a while too. Maybe I should bump it up a bit on the TBR pile, because it has been so long and you really seemed to enjoy it, Lance."

It's a fabulous book!!! I'd recommend bumping it up. Not everyone in my book club loved it as much as I did, but everybody liked it.

Meg ♥ - Grab a copy from wherever you can get one. Before you have read three pages you will be captivated and wit need to read right through to the end. You will not regret this type of captivity, I can promise you.

As a bonus, the cover is also beautiful!

finished Honolulu and just had to read Moloka'i which I'm feeling (so far anyway) is a stronger book - but enjoyed Honolulu, don't get me wrong, so far this just seems stronger.

I read this wonderful book several years ago, but it is one of those rare ones that stays in my memory.

Is it laden with facts in a manner that detracts from the writing, prose, narration? one or two reviews on amazon said this.

Jas wrote: "Is it laden with facts in a manner that detracts from the writing, prose, narration? one or two reviews on amazon said this."

This book?! I sure don't think so.

Lisa wrote: "Jas wrote: "Is it laden with facts in a manner that detracts from the writing, prose, narration? one or two reviews on amazon said this."

This book?! I sure don't think so."

good! i think there were two amazon reviews stating that the author used the novel as an excuse to just insert facts page after page. one of the many reasons i should stay off amazon.com then its set. next read. I need something moderately uplifting.

Well, I wouldn't necessarily call this book uplifting exactly, but I adored it.

I would say that the words to describe the book are inspiring and emotion-stirring, if the latter is allowed as a word. Not really uplifting.

As to your earlier point, it is certainly not so packed with facts that it detracts from the reading. Far from it. This is historical fiction. The story and the characters sweep you along like the mid-stream current of a great river.

I wholeheartedly agree with Lance!

"The story and the characters sweep you along like the mid-stream current of a great river. ".... that sounds delicious and splendid. It sounds uplifting, as in hopeful... like, What is the What (for instance). meaningful, i guess is a better word.

I loved this book MUCH better than that one.

Lisa wrote: "I loved this book MUCH better than that one."

ugh i had to read it for grad school (spirituality class assignment).... i liked it, but, like most egger's it went on and on and on....

this particular one sounds a lot like behind the beautiful forevers. Def just jumped to the top of my list.

Ah, I just finished the book and upon reading your review I have to agree with you. I think I cried throughout most of the book. But it was so beautifully written and so amazingly developed that I felt like I knew Rachel. I still feel her heartache in my chest as I write this. I have a feeling this book will stick with me a very long time.

Other readers have experienced it differently and felt that the prose was clogged, slow, weight down. Too dense is often the way it is described. Interestingly this is in more reviews by men

Jas wrote: "Other readers have experienced it differently and felt that the prose was clogged, slow, weight down. Too dense is often the way it is described. Interestingly this is in more reviews by men"

Yeah, I read a couple of reviews like that. And while I read them, I wondered how they could possibly feel that way, but then I had to remember that not everyone has the same taste and likes the same things. I actually find it interesting how we can all read the same book and come out with very different views on it and I love reading the point of view of others.

But I truly loved the book and I was absorbed from word one. When you read it, you'll have to let us know what you thought. :)

The wide variety of opinions is one big reason that I love GR so much, Jennifer.

And, in general, we respect each others' opinions even when we completely disagree with them. I love that too!

I loved book ,too.

I totally agree with you Lance. This book constantly had me on the verge of tears in literally every chapter. Like sister Catherine so frequently cried out to God asking him why he gave children leprosy, I did Brennert. I know realistically that some children would contract the disease, I didn't want it to be Rachel.

From he moment I started to read about Rachel and her family, I became attached, from her playing with her siblings to drinking Tahiti lemonade in the sun I felt like I right there. To have her life stripped from her in an instant. It was devastating. I believed for some reason, that once Rachel had contracted leprosy, she would never be able to experience things that "normal" people do, things like loving, and being loved. How could anybody, feel a sense of belonging when they're alone? I soon found out how wrong I had been because “Love, marriage, divorce, infidelity... life was the same here as anywhere else..." (Brennert 290).
This book is very inspirational and I recommend it to everyone as well.

I thought this was a great book, too. I have Hawaii in my Kindle.