The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai
by John Tayman
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Book Summary Information
Author: John TaymanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2007-01-09
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Scribner
Book Reviews of The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai
Book Review: Fascinating history with modern parallels
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Colony" was greeted with rave reviews on the U.S. Mainland. Yet, it is not even sold in the National Park Service's bookstore at the settlement site on Molokai. Indeed, the book so upset one of its leading characters, storyteller Makia Malo, that he will not even utter the author's name.
The Amazon reviews hint at the range and breadth of opinion this book has generated; I recommend browsing both the glowing reviews and some of the less favorable 3-star and 1-star reviews. For the New York Times article on the controversy, you can Google this search term: "Book on Leprosy Settlement Draws Fire."
For what it's worth, here is my own brief take:
This is an amazing history, told in impressive detail. In chronicling the story of leprosy on the Hawaiian islands, Tayman even-handedly presents the good and the bad: Both grotesque medical experimentation and heroic service, devastating tragedy and human resilience. The scientific information was interspersed throughout the personal and political stories, making it more easily digestible.
The history of leprosy is not only fascinating in its own right, but it has important parallels today. Tayman briefly mentions the parallel with AIDS, especially in the early years of AIDS when exile was being proposed. I also found it relevant to the current treatment of another shunned group - sex offenders. As with lepers back in the day, policy makers attempt to banish all sex offenders as pariahs despite the fact that, like lepers, only a small minority are dangerous.
The negatives: As other Amazon reviewers have pointed out, the narration is choppy. We learn a lot of facts about a lot of people, but it is hard to keep the characters straight. And the editing is quite poor, something I am seeing a lot of these days. As for Tayman's apparent disrespect or arrogance toward the very people he was trying to honor - you decide.
If you are interested in this topic, Jeff Talarigo's haunting debut novel, The Pearl Diver, provides a good contrast. Although it is fiction, it seems historically accurate and you can contrast the treatment of lepers in Japan, where there seems to have been even more shame and prejudice, with that in Hawaii, where nearly every family had a member who was afflicted.
Summary of The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai
Beginning in 1866 and continuing for over a century, more than eight thousand people suspected of having leprosy were forcibly exiled to the Hawaiian island of Molokai -- the longest and deadliest instance of medical segregation in American history. Torn from their homes and families, these men, women, and children were loaded into shipboard cattle stalls and abandoned in a lawless place where brutality held sway. Many did not have leprosy, and many who did were not contagious, yet all were ensnared in a shared nightmare.Here, for the first time, John Tayman reveals the complete history of the Molokai settlement and its unforgettable inhabitants. It's an epic of ruthless manhunts, thrilling escapes, bizarre medical experiments, and tragic, irreversible error. Carefully researched and masterfully told, The Colony is a searing tale of individual bravery and extraordinary survival, and stands as a testament to the power of faith, compassion, and the human spirit.
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