The Dark Light

Rating:
Summary: A heartbreaker of a book.
Review: As an individual who has worked in the field , I can say without equivocation that this book captures not only the disease but the stigma that still accompanies it, despite the fact that Hansen's Disease can be treated and cured . In America we had places like Molaki and Carville where we once banished our sick suffers of Hansen's Disease. This story could have been one of our own forced into a pitiless exile in the 1800s and early 1900s. This story ,however, captures fully the resiliance of the human spirit and the humanity of some of their caretakers. I am recommending this book to everyone I know for the graceful prose and beautiful depth of knowledge of the human heart.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I thought this book was awesome. You never wanted to put it down. Although it was a bit depressing, it turns out okay. Here is my summary of it:
She saw nothing but death. Death: a thick black fog over all her other thoughts. When 13 year old Tora found out she had leprosy, her life shattered before her. She was forced to leave her freinds, family, and home, to travel to St. Jorgen's hospital in Bergen, Norway. The leprosy hostpital: place of the livng dead. To outsiders, lepers were horrible, unclean people, so the lepers got little from the public. As Tora's body begins to fail her, however, she finds a new life within books.

This girl is just my age and i couldnt imagine being in her position. This book made me appreciate life and every day i get to live with great health. I hope more people will read this and feel the same.

Rating:
Summary: Creates a powerful novel filled with strong images
Review: I'm still reeling from the effects of reading Newth's powerful novel. Tora, the child grappling with dire circumstances, is an inspiration, and I was with her every step of the way as she navigated the dire realities of her world.

Rating:
Summary: A touching insight to the life of a young girl with leprosy.
Review: Mette Newth's words are rich and powerful. He readily indulges the senses. His rich words will make you smile and then cry and then both at the same time! The aura about this book is dark and secretive, but there is also something so light and wieghtless about it. The characters are well developed. Some caring, some devious, some in pain. When this book is read, the pain and suffering in the story is so real, it feels as though you are inside the story along with the characters. There is nothing so satisfying as feeling as though you are able to touch the characters in the story. Just reach out and feel their pain and their sorrows and know what they're thinking. Newth makes you step inside the story and walk among the characters. If you can't comprehend what the life of a leper is like, after you read this book, you might feel like you've been through it all!

Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written, gripping and powerful book
Review: The Dark Light is a beautifully written book. I believe that readers will learn a lot from this book, as I did. Mette Newth has written a masterpiece, a powerful book which I will never forget.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Tora is a thirteen year old girl who is dying of leprosy; she resides in Norway during the Napoleonic Wars. Throughout the novel, the author (Mette Newth) utilizes light imagery to foretell the events of the story. The title, "The Dark Light," is a blatent contradiction. Tora's life is also a contradiction. Although she leads a life that would be perceived as hopeless by many, she manages to find success and beauty. The success comes from her mastery of reading, and the beauty comes from the friendships that she cherishes as she resides within the horrid conditions of St. Jorgen's hospital. There, she cares for other lepers in order to pay for her stay. Tora finds her spiritual answers toward the final point of her death as the spirits of her mother and her two best friends answer her question "Does God exist?" They inform Tora that man creates his own gods; the answers of life lies within each of us.

Rating:
Summary: Tora's Paradox
Review: Tora is a thirteen year old girl who is dying of leprosy; she resides in Norway during the Napoleonic Wars. Throughout the novel, the author (Mette Newth) utilizes light imagery to foretell the events of the story. The title, "The Dark Light," is a blatent contradiction. Tora's life is also a contradiction. Although she leads a life that would be perceived as hopeless by many, she manages to find success and beauty. The success comes from her mastery of reading, and the beauty comes from the friendships that she cherishes as she resides within the horrid conditions of St. Jorgen's hospital. There, she cares for other lepers in order to pay for her stay. Tora finds her spiritual answers toward the final point of her death as the spirits of her mother and her two best friends answer her question "Does God exist?" They inform Tora that man creates his own gods; the answers of life lies within each of us.