Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Daughter of Moloka'i
    Daughter of Moloka'i
    Daughter of Moloka'i
    Audiobook14 hours

    Daughter of Moloka'i

    Written by Alan Brennert

    Narrated by Tamlyn Tomita

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    The highly anticipated sequel to Alan Brennert's acclaimed book club favorite, and national bestseller, Moloka'i 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateFeb 19, 2019
    ISBN9781980012566
    Author

    Alan Brennert

    Alan Brennert is a novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. He grew up in New Jersey but moved to California in 1973. His novel Moloka’i was a national bestseller and a One Book, One San Diego selection for 2012. It also received the Bookies Award, sponsored by the Contra Costa Library, for the 2006 Book Club Book of the Year. His next novel, Honolulu, won First Prize in Elle Magazine’s Literary Grand Prix for Fiction and was named one of the best books of 2009 by The Washington Post. Of his novel Palisades Park, People Magazine said: “Brennert writes his valentine to the New Jersey playground of his youth in Ragtime-style, mixing fact and fiction. It’s a memorable ride.” His work as a writer-producer for the television series L.A. Law earned him an Emmy Award and a People’s Choice Award in 1991. He has been nominated for an Emmy on two other occasions, once for a Golden Globe Award, and three times for the Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Teleplay of the Year. Alan's short story"Ma Qui" was honored with a Nebula Award in 1992. His story “Her Pilgrim Soul” was adapted by Brennert himself for the Alan Menken musical Weird Romance in 1992. His novel, Daughter of Moloka'i is a follow-up to Moloka'i that tells the story of Rachel Kalama's daughter Ruth, her early life, her internment during World War II, and her eventual meeting with her birth mother, Rachel. The novel explores the women's 22-year relationship, only hinted at it in Moloka'i.

    More audiobooks from Alan Brennert

    Related to Daughter of Moloka'i

    Related audiobooks

    Historical Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      'The Heart's Invisible Furies' Is the Funny, Touching Story of an Irish Everyman

      Sep 1, 2017

      Boyne's new novel follows its protagonist throughout the decades, from birth in 1945 to age 70, and the story encompasses a great deal of history.

      3 min read

    • Article

      J.P. Morgan’s Librarian Hid Her Race. A Novel Imagines The Toll On Her.

      Jun 29, 2021

      “The Personal Librarian,” based on a true story, explores the life of a Black collector who hid her race while amassing rare books for J.P. Morgan.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Best-sellers

      Feb 25, 2018

      Rankings for hard-cover books sold in Southern California, as reported by selected book stores: ___ Fiction 1."The Great Alone," by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin's: $28.99) A family discovers it is in peril after the father, a returning Vietnam War POW,

      1 min read

    • Article

      In Conversation With Heather Morris

      Mar 16, 2020

      Heather Morris is author of global bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz, a fictionalisation of the story of Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, who fell in love at a concentration camp. Her new novel, Cilka’s Journey, is the much-anticipated sequel. Heat

      2 min read

    • Article

      The TRUFFLE SEASON

      Aug 24, 2021

      The TRUFFLE SEASON
      6 min read

    • Article

      Echoes

      Jun 29, 2022

      Echoes
      9 min read

    • Article

      My Country Childhood

      Sep 4, 2019

      AUTHOR AND FORMER executive director of the Australian Writers Guild, Angela Wales, 71, moved from Bondi in Sydney to Walcha in the Northern Tablelands of NSW when she was five years old. Angela’s father, Bob, was to take over a struggling sheep prop

      7 min read

    • Article

      Beyond the Mangrove Trees

      Aug 6, 2020

      No one expects their house to float away. Ethel certainly hadn’t. Our story begins in the sleepy village of Greenwood, where Ethel had spent her entire life. It was an overcast Sunday afternoon and Ethel watched the rain lash against the window from

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Way Back Home

      Apr 30, 2022

      Morning light in Sydney has a quality of powdered gold, spilt celestial talcum. It gets up the nose. The streets seem to have nothing to think about other than parking and shopping, violence a concept from another hemisphere. The calm seems deliberat

      6 min read

    • Article

      Life In A Cold Climate

      Jun 6, 2021

      Life In A Cold Climate
      4 min read

    • Article

      THE Dark Light

      Oct 28, 2020

      THE Dark Light
      9 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reading Guide

      Jan 2, 2022

      Summer Reading Guide
      6 min read

    • Article

      Echoes

      Jun 22, 2022

      Echoes
      9 min read

    • Article

      THE Reading room

      Aug 18, 2019

      THE Reading room
      2 min read

    • Article

      Floating

      Mar 11, 2019

      Floating
      14 min read

    • Article

      Wixley WONDER

      Oct 19, 2022

      Lucy pulled her car into a lay-by at the top of the hill and gazed at the view below her. The small town stretched out along the banks of the river, surrounded by hills and fields, peaceful and welcoming in the sunshine. Ever since she’d seen the jo

      11 min read

    • Article

      Spellbinding Reads

      Nov 11, 2022

      READ THIS BY RACHEL JOYCE DOUBLEDAY In The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, the title character set off on foot on his unlikely trek across England to find his old friend Queenie Hennessy, while 1his embittered and grieving wife, Maureen, was le

      3 min read

    • Article

      A Gathering In The Kitchen

      Dec 1, 2021

      A Gathering In The Kitchen
      13 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Daughter of Moloka'i

    4/5

    140 ratings21 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Wow! It was such a great experience to have a story continued that was so inspirational in a beautiful survival story.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful sequel to Moloka'i ... and the insight of the terrible haunt of innocent japanese in the US after Pearl Harbor. Thank you.
    • 3/5
      Good historical value of Japanese internment process and times .
    • 4/5
      Once I started to listen to this book I couldn't stop.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved it just as much as the first book! I HIGHLY recommend this series!
    • 5/5
      Daughter of Molokai by Alan Brennert

      (scribd audiobook loan) This is the sequel to Molokai. Though this book can be read on it’s own, it will truly be appreciated if you read them in order.

      That being said this book is a beautiful though at times tear inducing sequel to Molokai. In the original book, we followed the life of Rachel who is sent to the leprosy colony of Molokai as a child. Though Rachel’s eyes we experienced what it was like to grow up in the colony.

      When Rachel marries a Japanese man, she becomes pregnant and book 2 follows the life of Rachel’s daughter Ruth. We follow Ruth through her early days in the orphanage, to her adoption by a Japanese family. We see her move with her family to California. There we get a glimpse of Japanese persecution in California at this time. Ruth’s adult life sees her in the Japanese internment camps and her reunification with her biological mother Rachel. If you loved Rachel in book one, I guarantee you Ruth will steal your heart very quickly in book 2. You will ultimately see this “half cookie” become whole ❤️. I truly loved this book and would highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      This was an excellent book and quick read. It kept my attention.
    • 4/5
      Beautiful book it taught me so much about Hawaiian culture. At the same time an eye opener of the Japanese WWII sufferings. So well narrated. A must read or listen.
    • 4/5
      Daughter of Moloka’i (Moloka’i #2) by Alan Brennert

      February 2019
      Fiction, historical
      St.Martin’s Press and NetGalley

      I received a digital copy of this ARC from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for an unbiased review.

      Originally published in 2004, Moloka’i (book 1) by Alan Brennert provides a richly detailed history of Rachel Kalama’s life growing up in a leper colony on Moloka’i, Hawai’i during 1891 to 1948. “Kalaupapa had evolved from a “given grave” where the afflicted could only wait for death to a place where people lived as well as died.”

      Rachel lived a full, meaningful life on Kalaupapa where she married Kenji Utagawa. In 1918, they made the heart wrenching decision to put their only child up for adoption. Once it was determined that Ruth was not afflicted she was sent to live in Kapi’olani Home, an orphanage.

      Daughter of Moloka’i provides a parallel history of Hawai’i from the perspective experienced by Ruth Utagawa during 1891 to 1948. The historical aspects of life during these years is not overlooked. The author provides well-researched information which allows the reader to understand the hardships and devastation of the time. Ruth was adopted by Taizo and Etsuko Watanabe, a Japanese family, with 3 boys desperately wanting a girl to add to their family. She eventually goes on to marry Frank Haradas and have 2 children of her own.

      The stories entwine to provide perspectives of family life and loyalty. Although this novel could easily “stand alone” the emotional family history is enhanced with the “complete” story explained in Moloka’i.
    • 4/5
      This book was not as good as Moloka’i. The characters were mostly either good or bad, and their relationships were either always great or terrible. There was little nuance or human flaws. That said, the book was still an engaging read. The section on the Japanese Internment Camps was eye opening to me and made the book well worth the read.
    • 4/5
      This book highlights a shameful event in American history when Japanese Americans had their homes, businesses and possessions taken and were placed in internment camps for long periods of time in places that were foreign to them after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Ruth is at the epicenter of this novel. She was born to Japanese/Hawaiian parents on Molokai who had Hansen's disease, formerly known as leprosy. Deemed to be free of the disease, she was raised by nuns until she was four without a knowledge of her birth parents, when she was adopted by a loving couple with two sons. They eventually moved to the United States. Ruth is married with two children at the outbreak of WWII when the Japanese are targeted as potentially subversive. The question as to why people of German and Italian descent aren't also targeted is haunting - the only reason can be that aren't readily visually identifiable.Ruth's life follows an interesting life trajectory as she learns more about her past. It was helpful to have read Rachel's story in Molokai #1, which I well remember and which led to learning more about Molokai and its haunting history.
    • 4/5
      Ruth is the Daughter of Moloka'i. Her birth mother, Rachel, was the protagonist in the first novel of this series. Ruth has been separated from her parents and is taken to a Hawaiian orphanage. Daughter of Moloka'i follows Ruth through much of her life from the orphanage to adulthood in California. This covers the period of World War II so also takes place in Japanese internment camps. The camps are more vividly and violently described than most novels I've read. A more complete stain on our history is revealed.The novel tackles the topics of racism, mixed backgrounds, family struggles, a sense of honor, and love. Like Rachel Ruth is a very loving woman.
    • 3/5
      This is the sequel to Moloka'i. It tells the story of Rachel's daughter, Ruth. At a year old, Ruth was taken from Kalaupapa to the Kapi'olani Home for Girls. At a young age, she was adopted by a Japanese couple. Their family left Hawaii and moved to California's farmland. When WWII struck, the family was interned at the Manzanar Relocation Camp. Years later, Ruth receives a letter from a woman claiming to be her birth mother.This book had some of the same problems that Moloka'i had. The characters seemed detached and superficial. I never felt like I knew who the characters were. Relationships with secondary characters also seemed superficial. Time also moved quickly in this book, skipping through what may have been important moments. Overall, not a bad book, but not something I would reread or recommend.
    • 4/5
      Daughter of Moloka'I by Alan Brennert is a 2019 St. Martin’s Press publication. Vivid and poignant, very effective and emotional! It took me a long time to get around to reading Moloka’i, and I deeply regretted putting it off for so long. However, on the positive side, having read it so close to the publication date of this long anticipated follow up, all the details were still very fresh in my mind. Remembering the many reasons why Ruth was placed for adoption so clearly, experiencing her story first hand, was more touching and heart wrenching and the story is felt more powerful and intense. To recap-Ruth’s parents were both inflicted with leprosy and lived on the island of Moloka’i in Hawaii. Ruth was free of the disease, but her parents had to give her up so that she could live a full and happy life. Ruth is biracial- part Hawaiian and part Japanese. Her adoptive parents are Japanese, and Ruth is also blessed with having older brothers. Her life is good, her parents love her, but Ruth has to cope with racism and prejudice aimed at her because she of her mixed race. She also experienced cultural misogyny and sexism. However, Ruth’s life changes forever, when her parent move from Hawaii to California, hoping to own and work their own land. Sadly, they were misled, and things didn’t work out for them quite the way they planned. However, Ruth grows up, gets married, and starts her own family. However, life as she knows it comes to an abrupt halt when the Japanese invade Pearl Harbor. Ruth and her family are among the many Japanese Americans rounded up and sent to the internment camps. Although she makes the best of the situation, it also leaves her embittered. Eventually, the story merges with that of Ruth’s mother, Rachel, who is now widowed and declared free of her leprosy. The mother and daughter finally meet and forge a bittersweet relationship. I strongly urge anyone considering this book to read the first Moloka'i beforehand. The story will not have the same impact if you are not aware of Rachel’s backstory and the hopes she had for Ruth. The bulk of the story is centered around Ruth’s life in the internment camps and the horrible injustices bestowed on these American citizens. I’m glad this period of history is spoken of more frequently now, and more closely examined.I never heard a great deal about the plight of the Japanese Americans during world war two, until a little over a decade or so back. It was not a topic that came up frequently, and when it did, it was quickly glossed over. The more I learned about it the conditions of the relocation camps, the way these families were stripped of everything they had worked for, the more mortified I became. This was certainly not a shining moment in US history. Although many years later, some acknowledgments and apologies were eventually forthcoming, and a pittance was given the survivors, it doesn’t come close to compensating for what these endured and lost. This is a period in history that should get more exposure, especially in the classroom. While I would like for us to learn from the past and be ever more diligent not to repeat our mistakes, I hold my breath, wondering when- not if- this same exact thing will happen again. This story personalizes the struggles of those in California who were forced to live in the camps, and once released were forced to start building their lives all over again from scratch. Living through these times, seeing it from Ruth’s perspective certainly gave me pause. Ruth is a strong character, who endured much, felt deep convictions, and although she never fully released her bitterness, her life was enriched by her adoptive family, her husband and children, and eventually, by having the chance to forge a relationship with Rachel. This novel has an entirely different tone from its predecessor. It’s not as tender, has a sharper edge to it, more befitting of the situation, I suppose. I think Ruth’s character is as sympathetic as Rachel’s, but the era of time the story is written in, as well as the dynamics between Ruth’s adoptive family, which was also quite intense at times, makes the atmosphere heavier and the characters tougher, but equally resilient. I would caution against starting this one with preconceived notions. Don’t expect the same type of emotional elements, or tragic poignancy as Moloka’i. It is certainly different, but I appreciated it and found it to be a very compelling novel. I must confess, I enjoyed seeing Rachel and Ruth reunited, and although Rachel continued to suffer loss and lingering health issues, she lived a full life, as did Ruth, both women overcoming adversity, getting on with the business of life and living, and appreciating every moment they were alive – and FREE!
    • 4/5
      Although you don't have to read Moloka'i before you read this book, the story is richer if you do. There is enough backstory given so it's not a necessity, but you'll appreciate this book more, I think. This story is rich in character and history, as was Moloka'i, and I felt the characters as if I knew them – always a good thing in fiction, even historical fiction. We have done some horrible things to our citizens over the year, and sadly, we continue to do so.Towards the end, the story got a bit touchy-feely for someone (me) who shies away from too much of that, but it wasn't over the top. This story, although there was a great deal of love in it, is not a typical romance. I really enjoyed Moloka'i, and I'm glad this book was published, albeit several years after I read Moloka'i, so I could find out what became of the daughter of Moloka'i.
    • 4/5
      Alan Brennert doesn't pull his punches when it comes to some of the more shameful aspects of history. In Moloka'i he explored the segregation of Hansen's Disease patients in Hawai'i, through the eyes of Rachel Kalama who was removed from her family and sent to the leper colony on Moloka'i at a young age. Now, in Daughter of Moloka'i, Brennert tells the story of Ruth, the daughter Rachel was forced to give up for adoption. And his unstinting gaze falls on the racism against Japanese immigrants and the Japanese internment camps of WWII.As always, Brennert's gaze falls beyond the immediate drama to give us the full and rich sweep of a life. Ruth's life is fully imagined, from her time in an orphanage and her dreams of finding a family to her happiness with her adopted parents and brothers to the hardships they faced as farmers in rural California to their internment and beyond. Once Rachel is re-introduced into the narrative, it is fascinating to watch Brennert tell the same story, even many of the exact same scenes, but told from Ruth's perspective. Reading the books back-to-back turns them into a wonderfully faceted multi-generational story that is a pleasure to read.
    • 5/5
      DAUGHTER OF MOLOKA’I by Alan BrennertThe long awaited sequel to MOLOKA’I is here! Rachel’s daughter Ruth, taken from her the day Ruth was born, is the main character in this family tale that extends from Hawaii to California to Japanese internment camps and back to California.Brennert excels in incorporating actual people and events into his stories. DAUGHTER OF MOLOKA’I is no exception. The discrimination against Japanese (Rachel is adopted by a Japanese couple) in the early part of the twentieth century, the difficult life of “foreign” farmers in the lush farmland of California and the internment of hapless Japanese during WWII make up the bulk of this novel. The final portion relates the difficulty of adoptees and their birth parents in locating each other and the repercussions that follow. Brennert’s empathy finds expression is his clearly drawn characters, skillful conversations and deft handling of conflict. Book groups will love this historically accurate account of difficult episodes., especially those who have read and loved MOLOKA’I. Groups interested in immigration/emigration issues will find much to discuss.5 of 5 stars
    • 5/5
      We first meet Ruth in an orphanage on Oahu, the half Japanese, half Hawaiian daughter of occupants of the Moloka’I leper colony. Over the course of 54 years, from 1926 to 1970, we follow her life as she is adopted by a Japanese family who move to California to farm. Of course, come Pearl Harbor, they are put in an internment camp and later have to start over in the aftermath. Ruth is contented with her life; she loves her parents and is starting a family of her own. Then, out of nowhere, a letter arrives from Rachel – her birth mother. Will Ruth want to meet the woman who gave her up when she was one year old? Can she love both her birth mother who she doesn’t remember and her adoptive mother, the only other she’s known? Can she even understand the woman who gave her up- and who lived a significant amount of her life in the leper colony? The characters are mostly well drawn and three dimensional. The author brings places to life, too- the islands, central California, the internment camps. I think this description of the inhumanity of putting people in internment camps like animals comes at a time when the US is doing the same thing all over again, and I hope it will make some difference in the minds of readers. Five stars.
    • 4/5
      I loved this story. My only complaint is that the characters didn’t spend enough time in Hawaii. The setting was one of the things that made Molokai so wonderful to read. While Daughters of Molokai is an engaging continuation of that story, I was expecting a bit more of the Hawaiian atmosphere.In Alan Brennert’s sequel, readers follow the child Ruth as she is put in an orphanage and eventually adopted. I felt her adoptive family was so pivotal to the story. As Ruth adjusts to her new family, she eventually forgets her life in the orphanage. The family endures many changes throughout her growing up years.A major event in their lives was the move to California, where her father learns some unsettling news about his older brother. Later, the bombing of Pearl Harbor leads to the incredibly sad time Ruth and her family spend in an internment camp during WWII. Growing up, Ruth was often bothered by being “half.” Half Japanese and half Hawaiian, Ruth was left with a sense of not completely belonging. Eventually meeting her biological mother and learning more about her Hawaiian culture helps Ruth to reconcile her dual heritage. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.
    • 4/5
      Years ago I read Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson and was staggered upon learning of the internment of American-Japanese residents by the American Government during World War II. This wasn’t taught in the History or Political Science classes that I took in school, once again proving that the victors get to decide how history is fashioned and handed down. Daughter of Moloka’i reawakened the abomination that the American Government visited upon its Japanese residents and citizens. This book made me realize I had shelved that knowledge, once again ignoring the hopelessness, loss, separation and misery that Americans perpetrated upon loyal Japanese citizens.The Daughter of Moloka’i is about Ruth Utagawa, born to a Hawaiian Mother and Japanese father, both lepers, who were forced to give up their baby within a day or her birth. Ruth grows up in an orphanage and at for the age of three she is able to articulate that she feels Hapa, half of something and never whole. Wanting a family, a real home and being repeatedly rejected by prospective parents she reacts with anger and not surprising this is her fall-back emotion to all the injustices she is forced to endure throughout her life. The forced loss of a mangy dog she named Only, constant belittling by her schoolmates, the theft of a business created by Ruth and her husband, transported on trains with the windows blanked out not for their protection but so white citizens wouldn’t have to view the passengers, being forced to live in abandoned, barely standing, flea ridden stables in the internment camp, Ruth and her family were entitled to their anger. Ruth offers the thought that she understands how the European Jews must feel. With each blow struck against Ruth my heart broke, and I felt Ruth’s anger and Brennert’s writing is that quietly powerful. I loved everything about Alan Brennert’s previous novels Moloka’i and Honolulu. Heartbreaking, well researched stories with exceptionally fluid writing. Daughter of Moloka’i was equal in prose to Brennert’s previous books, the story being told was equally important. But this book read like two separate books that didn’t completely mesh.Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy.
    • 4/5
      This is a sequel to “Moloka’i”, to be published early in 2019. This one follows Ruth, the daughter of Rachel and Kenji, both who have Hansen’s disease (leprosy) and were sent to Molokai to live their lives. Rachel is Hawaiian and Kenji, Japanese. Ruth was born in the early 20th century, and was taken away from her parents. At 5 years old, she is adopted by a Japanese couple, so Ruth is raised learning her Japanese culture. They move from Hawaii to California when Ruth is still young to help her uncle on his farm. Things do not go well for Ruth and her family, along with over 100,000 Japanese Americans when Pearl Harbour is bombed in 1941.I really liked this, though I have to admit, I wasn’t as interested later on in the book when Rachel came back into the picture. Maybe that would have been different if it hadn’t been so long since I’d read the first book, I’m not sure. It was interesting learning about the Japanese culture, as Ruth learned, and later there was some about the Hawaiian culture, as well. The most interesting parts of the book to me was when Ruth and her family were in the internment camps. That wasn’t completely new to me, but it was the best part of the book for me. I do feel like this one could stand-alone without having read the first book.