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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was... fine? I probably would have rated it higher if I hadn't found the main character to be absolutely intolerable, but riding around in Mirielle's head was pretty awful. She remains selfish, petty, self-absorbed, and self-sabotaging until basically the final chapter, lashing out at everyone around her when things don't go her way, and assigning blame where it's undeserved. Mirielle was certainly entitled to feel horrible about her circumstances, but taking it out on the people who are in the same (or worse) boat as her again and again was tough to read. The other characters gave her chance after chance, for reasons that escape me.
**whispers** go read Moloka'i!
**whispers** go read Moloka'i!
3.75. Well written fictional account of a woman quarantined in the 1920s at the only leprosarium on the mainland US. I knew about the lepers in Hawaii, but not in Georgia.
Okay! I actually really enjoyed this book and wish I could give it like 3.5 or closer to 4 stars! The later half of the book was what sucked me in!
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This would have been a 5 star review, but the last 60 pages or so knocked it down to a 4 in my opinion. The story was beautifully written and I loved seeing Mirielle's growth throughout the book. I gasped, I cried, and I learned A LOT about leprosy and the unfair discrimination shown towards those infected. Reading about a pandemic during a pandemic may not be for everyone, but I love historical fiction about time periods that aren't included in literature often. I wish the ending didn't feel so rushed/out of place.
An interesting look into a history I knew nothing about. Did not love the protagonist but the supporting cast of characters was enough to keep me interested.
Read this book earlier in the year and loved it! This part of history is not taught extensively and the troubles these individuals endured and families which were torn apart is disheartening. The author did an incredible job with the characters being personable and relatable.
Listened on audiobooks. I liked the story, though it was much different than expected. It didn’t blow me away by any means but if you have or you are gifted a copy, read it. It’s heartfelt, great with character development, and ends on a sweet note. I read The Covenant of Water following this and felt very much in the know of leper colonies.
For Mirielle West, a 1920’s socialite married to a silent film star, the isolation and powerlessness of the Louisiana Leper Home is an unimaginable fall from her intoxicatingly chic life of bootlegged champagne and the star-studded parties of Hollywood’s Golden Age. When a doctor notices a pale patch of skin on her hand, she’s immediately branded a leper and carted hundreds of miles from home to Carville, taking a new name to spare her family and famous husband the shame that accompanies the disease.
At first she hopes her exile will be brief, but those sent to Carville are more prisoners than patients and their disease has no cure. Instead she must find community and purpose within its walls, struggling to redefine her self-worth while fighting an unchosen fate.
At first she hopes her exile will be brief, but those sent to Carville are more prisoners than patients and their disease has no cure. Instead she must find community and purpose within its walls, struggling to redefine her self-worth while fighting an unchosen fate.