Customer Reviews

The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

It's hard to imagine the devastation that took place over 2 generations in Hawaii. The population was decimated by diseases for which there were no known causes and no cures. With the emergence of yet a new disease, one with very visible effects there should be no surprise about the panic it caused.

The story of the first exiles is heartbreaking. Their exodus was so poorly planned that the first patients (all quite ill) once disembarked, had to walk up a cliff and then further to a new "home" on which they were expected to forage and farm and build their homes. The captain of the boat that brings these and subsequent exiles to Molokai escapes incarceration for obvious and continuing acts of theft and abuse of the exiles, a true metaphor for the neglect of the Board of Health. From forboding beginnings, a thriving community emerges and later wanes due to advances in medicine.

I think this book was rushed to publication. While the author did 18 months of research, I don't think he digested it all. The result is a book that doesn't hang together very well. It seems that after finding a lot of interesting information Tayman wanted to use it all whether or not he could provide context for it. Where he was able to produce full stories, I'm not sure he had a handle of their significance. I'm not critical of this because I understand their significance, but I expected the book to be more than collection of anecdotes and facts. This book has a lot of very good information, a lot of which I believe is newly presented, but I think the author needed more time to reflect on the topic for a more coherent presentation of it.

Some things are not followed up on, like the personality of Ferdinand Hutchinson, who seems to be focused on doing things cheaply. Even before his exiled son is introduced, he is dropped from the narrative (How responsible was he for the boat captain? What was his attitude/political posture towards his son's exile and did his views change upon it?) Walsh's administration is portrayed as a failure, but later a rather large hospital built in his tenure is casually mentioned. There are some places which I think would be important turning points, but little information is given. It would seem that the introduction of water and electricity would be a major sociological changes for the residents, as well as logistical achievement of the Board of Health, but it gets only a passing mention. Taymen cites things that improve after the death of King Kalakua, and in 1907 Jack London praises the settlement. How these changes occurred and who was responsible for them is not clear from the text.

There are some strange adjectives, for instance "The Little Grass Shack" is labled a "nonsensical" song. There are vignettes that cause pause, for instance during WWII, a civil defense officer has boys march with sticks "hoping enemy submarines will mistake them as soldiers." This one sentence is planted in the middle of a narrative on how the area was being protected. Could this be literal?

This book has caused controversy in Hawaii. The cover photo is allegedly a cliff in Italy. There is criticism of the title. More important, the survivors, who are profiled in the last chapters, perhaps 20% of the book, have objected to their portrayal. Tayman writes sympathetically of them, but some of his phrasings could be construed as condescending to them. One portrait even begins with his minimization of the endearing, "Grass Shack" song.

Much like the early years of the AIDS epidemic, leprosy had created a fear of the unknown and brought out the worst of human nature. Supported by Biblical injunctions (like the ones that supported slavery), bigots would hunt down and exile those with leprosy as if they were sin incarnate instead of a person infected with a disease. Image isolating for life someone with migraines merely for having migraines -- there was no court of appeals, just a prison for life because they were ill.

America's role in this inhumane madness came after the American occupation of the Hawaiian Islands in 1893. The island of Molokai was already the site for exiled lepers on an isolated sliver of land for nearly three decades. American policy was one of neglect and of allowing "The Colony" to exist until 1969 -- a quarter century after safe medical treatment was devised.

The history of "The Colony" on Molokai will make the reader angry and ashamed of how the lepers were condemned, exiled, cut off from the world as if they were subhuman. Mr. Tayman graphically describes the cost that the lepers paid in being ostracized by society and the painful suffering endured by them with minimal medical care, shelter and food. James Michener described the leper colony in his sprawling historical epic novel "Hawaii"-1959. "The Colony" is not an easy book to read but it is a book worth reading.

"The Colony" would appear to be well-researched (the citations are extensive and detailed, and occupy nearly a fifth of the book), and sympathetic to the patients at Kalaupapa. Certainly it is well-written & interesting. I was prepared to give it a glowing review, but troubling details began to peek out at me.

As I perused the notelines, I observed that two of the four patients whose stories occupy the latter half of the book had withdrawn their cooperation from John Tayman's project. A third patient, Bernard Punikai'a, did not participate (so the notes say) because his poor health prevented him from doing so. Most of his story comes from secondary sources.

Tayman did not go into specifics as to why these patients withdrew their support, but a spate of articles (most prominently one in the NY Times) have appeared which charge Tayman with sensationalizing the story of Kalaupapa to suit his own purposes. Bernard Punikai'a may have been too ill to be interviewed, but apparently he was well enough to contact the publisher and give subsequent interviews expressing his disapproval of being included in this book without his permission.

I can't help wonder why the other patients (there are more than four surviving patients) were not interviewed or profiled...Tayman is unclear on just who all was interviewed, but I suspect that other patients may have smelled a rat and chose not to cooperate.

Some of the articles I read indicate that Tayman consents only to answering questions other than by e-mail. This sounds more than a little fishy to me. Is he afraid of getting caught dissembling?

All this is a shame, because the book at times does a very good job of examining the tragedies concerning public policy towards leprosy. While Hansen's disease now is largely controllable and can no longer be perceived as a public health threat, Tayman draws parallels between the stigma then and the current stigma of AIDs patients. Same story largely, but a different illness. I suspect that he could have drawn these parallels equally well without raising all of the ill will that he has.

In any case, approach this book with some caution. Read the reviews and the articles (notice that the reviewers from Hawaii, who would know the story of Kalaupapa better than I) are almost uniformly harsh in their assessment. Keep these criticisms in mind as you read this book, and remember that there is more than one version to this story.

I have an interest in the leprosy exile to Molokai for several reasons: I saw a movie about Father Damian and his work there years ago; I lived on the Big Island of Hawaii for more than three years, 1978-81, and the leper colony sometimes made the news even then, and of course, any tale of human hardship, cruelty from those in authority, and heroism from the compassionate few, is automatically interesting. This book is pretty complete in its chronological history of the century-old system of exiling leprosy patients, which only ended in 1969 when effective drugs were proven which ended the risk of catching the illness from patients. I am myself fresh into an exile of sorts, a marital separation I did not wish, and therefore in a self-pitying mood. However, reading this volume about the horrible suffering that many of those diagnosed with leprosy had to endure when torn from their families and sent to the primitive peninsula on Molokai's stormy northern coast is a good antidote for whining about my problems. Some patients as young as seven were shipped there to fend for themselves in the early years. Imagine that. The book is fair-minded, sympathetic to the patients but also seeing the reasons why the authorities felt that banishment was the only way to protect the island populations from an epidemic. The reader learns a lot about leprosy, and even more about the colony, but most of all about the will of the human spirit to survive and make a decent life under the toughest of circumstances.

An extraordinary story of the unfortunate men and women who were torn from their families and homes, and then banished to the leper colony at Molokai. I came away with immense awe and respect for each and every patient forced to endure this terrifying exile. It's a harrowing tale, but the author uses historical perspective, detail, and even humor to tell it. The book also highlights the courage and resilience of these people. Highly recommended.

I have a personal interest in the leper colony at Molokai as Donald Walsh, one of its early superintendents, was a brother of my great-grandfather. Unlike previous histories which gloss over Walsh's contributions, The Colony gives him due credit for establishing a school, improving residences, and planning for a hospital. Regrettably, Walsh died before he could complete all of his plans, and the settlement reverted to disarray until the saintly Father Damien came along. Superbly researched and highly readable, The Colony concludes with biographical sketches of several current residents. A riveting chronicle of human suffering from beginning to end!
--Review by William Schmidt

This is one perfectly crafted piece of non fiction. John Tayman's book keeps the reader curious from the first time the book is opened until the last words are read. A perfectly told story about the exiles of Molokai.

I've flown over Molokai a lot, and heard a little about the people down there, but I never knew the history of the place and the people was as incredible as it is. (I usually read business books.) So credit the Colony for letting me in on an unknown chapter in American history. That the author made it as compelling and inspiring to read is to his credit. The stories of these people will stay with me for a very long time. Anyone mulling a trip to Hawaii should grab this book-and if you already live here, you absolutely should read this.

At last, a showcase of John Tayman's considerable investigative skills. For those of us that have followed his career and wanted more, Tayman delivers in his first book a story so compelling and richly reported that the reader is gripped from beginning to end.

Tayman relates the drama of the only leper colony to ever exist on American soil and respectfully reports the personal histories of those who passed through its gates and, in some cases, still remain. A non-fiction Lord of the Flies with the stage of isolation set by the US Government. He captures this dark period in medical and American history with a story that both reminds us of the ignorance of medieval healing and horrifies us with the knowledge that the colony continued to exist up through the time of America's race to the moon.

A wonderfully written narrative for readers who appreciate historically significant stories, or for those who just want a riveting page turner.

Having heard my grandmother's stories about Fr Damien and his work on Molokai and then living in Hawaii for four years, I just had to read this book. I was not disappointed -- The Colony was fascinating and yet caused me to spend time reflecting on those afflicted with Hansen's Disease. The only downside of reading this book was the deep saddness I felt for those forced into exile. It is a poignant story.

On a positive note, I found the book very easy to read (I had a difficult time putting it down). The personal stories meshed with the government's policies and actions were interesting. There are a limited amount of pictures, but they are helpful in understanding and not offensive.

For the academic folks in the crowd, I found the endnote documentation excellent.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in the subject. I especially recommend it for those who may someday visit Molokai. It will give you a whole different perspective of Kalaupapa.