Review: Daughter of Moloka'i

Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can honestly say that Moloka'i is one of the best novels of historical fiction that I've ever read. It's hard to imagine a sequel living up to the acclaim of that book, but Alan Brennart does not disappoint.

In the last sections of Moloka'i Rachel Kalama Utagawa is finally able to reconnect with Ruth, the daughter she gave up for adoption to give her a chance for a healthy family, away from the leprosy colony at Kalaupapa. In Daughter of Moloka'i we learn of Ruth's life in the orphanage on Oahu and her early crushing disappointments. We meet the Watanabes, the family that adopts her and moves to California, far from the stigma of Ruth's origins as a child born of lepers. And yet even in California, Ruth's heritage, and that of her Issei adoptive parents and siblings, results in their being interned in Manzanar during WWII. Ruth's life in San Jose, after the war, with her husband Frank and children, Donnie and Peggy, changes course on the day in 1948 that the postman delivers a letter from R. Utagawa. Ruth's understanding of her parent's life, and even the simple origin of her Japanese name, Dai, alters her worldview.

The moving story of Ruth's life is in some aspects less difficult than Rachel's but in others harder because of Ruth's struggle to understand the losses incurred in her early life. The depth of her biological mother Rachel's and adoptive mother Etsuko's love for her make for a truly moving story that unfolds along with the depiction of the palpable racism and marginalization of this era in American history. A must read for those who loved Moloka'i.

I received a Digital Review Copy of this book along with a paper review copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

View all my reviews