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The Leper
John Eric Severson is a veteran of the First World War - a branded Marine Corps captain who once got lost in a forest and unknowingly led his bedraggled men into a leper colony. Now, five years later, he is an idealistic schoolteacher in a tough, working-class neighborhood where earning a high school diploma is something most of his students can only dream about. Severson vows to educate every one of them, but he quickly learns there is one student the tall, handsome Swede canno control. The lovely Bernice DuFresne. Her wit and charm are no match for him, and halfway through the school year he swears at himself for falling in love with one of his students. His love affair is of the highest risk, but they manage to hold on to their secret until that fateful day he is diagnosed with the dreaded disease and literally chased from the school.
Stalked by the ghosts of his past, Severson begins an odyssey that takes him down the Mississippi River into the swamps of Louisiana - to a colony so miserable its existence is only rumored. His desperate escapes from tis hellhole become murderous as he tries to return to a place and time, and to a woman, that he loves. Finally, banished to the island of Molokai, he becomes a leprosy settlement sheriff - and a living legend.
Stalked by the ghosts of his past, Severson begins an odyssey that takes him down the Mississippi River into the swamps of Louisiana - to a colony so miserable its existence is only rumored. His desperate escapes from tis hellhole become murderous as he tries to return to a place and time, and to a woman, that he loves. Finally, banished to the island of Molokai, he becomes a leprosy settlement sheriff - and a living legend.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 3, 2009
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September 1, 2024
If you are interested in a great book about a leper I’d recommend MOLOKi’A by Alan Brennert.
The plot of The Leper is ridiculous with coincidences after coincidences, the writing creaky.
My copy also has typos and misuses of homophones. I can’t imagine the 5star ratings were from anyone who actually read the book.
The plot of The Leper is ridiculous with coincidences after coincidences, the writing creaky.
My copy also has typos and misuses of homophones. I can’t imagine the 5star ratings were from anyone who actually read the book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review