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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fascinating story on the history of leprosy in America, both around the physical properties of the disease and around the social stigma and treatment of people with leprosy.
After her diagnosis, Mirielle West is sent into a forced quarantine at Carville, a home / treatment facility for people with leprosy. There, she meets others with the disease and learns from their reactions, finds a new meaning to life after being separated from her family, and ultimately comes to terms with her own disease and the way her life has changed as a result of it.
Really interesting story and very readable. I enjoyed the others she met at the camp, including Irene and Jean. However, the main character was kind of the worst. Pretty self indulged, despite the character growth you see throughout.
After her diagnosis, Mirielle West is sent into a forced quarantine at Carville, a home / treatment facility for people with leprosy. There, she meets others with the disease and learns from their reactions, finds a new meaning to life after being separated from her family, and ultimately comes to terms with her own disease and the way her life has changed as a result of it.
Really interesting story and very readable. I enjoyed the others she met at the camp, including Irene and Jean. However, the main character was kind of the worst. Pretty self indulged, despite the character growth you see throughout.
Kind of fluffy book, but very interesting subject that I knew nothing about. At the end of the 19th century and halfway through the 20th century, anyone who was diagnosed w/ Hanson's disease (leprosy) could be forcibly sent away to a "leprosy hospital". The largest number of people were sent to Molokai, a Hawaiian island, but many were also sent to Carville, Louisiana. Nuns from the Daughters of Charity cared for the patients who were not allowed to leave. This book is historical fiction but came from the diaries of many of the patients who for the most part were abandoned by their families. The main character was a wealthy woman from Hollywood whose husband was a silent film star. The stories of what these people endured is heartbreaking. It was not until 1940 that an antibiotic was developed that cured the disease.
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Nice read. I got frustrated with Mirielle at times, but cannot even imagine what it would be like to quarantined at the Carville Lepers Home. I have visited the museum at Carville and enjoyed reading about the patients life there.
emotional
This book was a fascinating historical work, and one that is largely untold (about leprosy, about the 1920s), but I found it really drawn out and the characters somewhat flat. I had a hard time being drawn into the stories, and found myself wanting to know more about how they found a cure for leprosy, the advances made over the last hundred years, etc. I do think there is something to learn from a book like this—we might not be currently dealing with leprosy in the way we were 100+ years ago, but there is something to be gained from how we deal with communicable diseases and their stigma.