John Tayman's "The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles on Molokai," has received unanimous raves in national media, but some Kalaupapa residents featured in the book, as well as others with links to the settlement, are accusing the author of questionable ethics, shoddy research and insensitivity to people with Hansen's disease.

Ann Malo, whose husband, the poet and storyteller Makia Malo, is featured in the latter part of the book, said Tayman took advantage of her and her husband by taking information out of context, improperly using excerpts of Malo's work, and reneging on what she understood to be an agreement to revise or delete sections of the book to their satisfaction.

Tayman, who said he was saddened by the accusations, said all of the information used in the book was gleaned from extensive archival research and hours of recorded interviews.

He also said that he made it clear to Ann Malo that he would consider any comments she had about the manuscript but could not give her final say on what was included.

"As a journalist, I never grant editorial control of my work to anybody," he said. "I haven't done that in a single instance in 25 years, and I wouldn't do that with this book. I said I would give them the opportunity to see any material about them as part of the normal fact-checking, as I would with anybody, and I'd take their suggestions into consideration."

Ann Malo also said Tayman asked her husband for 12 unpublished stories and six unpublished poems, for which he would provide feedback and then forward for publication in a collection to be published in conjunction with "The Colony."

Malo said Tayman instead used a portion of the works for his own book and returned the stories only after she and her husband hired a lawyer to get Makia Malo's name and information stricken from the book. The couple was later contacted by a potential publisher, whom Ann Malo rejected because she sounded "young."

Tayman said it was the Malos who asked him to look at the stories and poems, and that he referred them to a publisher as promised. He said the portion of Malo's work that was included in the book came from the previously published collection, "Chicken Soup from the Soul of Hawai'i," and was properly cited in "The Colony."

Tayman said he is most disturbed by suggestions that he plagiarized material.

In a story published in the Maui News, Kalaupapa resident Olivia Breitha said that Tayman "stole" from a book she had written and "put his own spin on it."

At the request of Breitha and another Kalaupapa resident, Bernard Punikai'a, Gov. Linda Lingle, U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, and U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case wrote to the book's publisher.

Tayman said letters, of which he has copies, were "standard constituency letters" that request the publisher address the complainants' concerns.

"They were written before the book was released, so none of them had actually read the book themselves," Tayman said.

Tayman said Breitha's work was among thousands of documents he consulted during his research and that all information taken from direct interviews or published material was clearly cited.

"That's what journalists and historians do," Tayman said. "My publisher and I explained that very carefully. I'm not presenting anyone else's words as my own. Everything I used was extensively and thoroughly sourced and cited."

The Malos and others associated with the settlement also objected to the book's title, "The Colony," arguing that it is freighted with prejudicial imagery, and to Tayman's use of the word "leper" in the text.

Tayman said he carefully plotted his use of the words to be consistent with historical context, noting that the language shifts according to the times depicted.

Anwei Law, international coordinator for the advocacy group IDEA and author of "Kalaupapa: A Portrait," said Tayman incorporates historical mistakes, including inaccurate dates and confusion of events. She said Tayman also left out the contributions of key figures who ministered to the residents of Kalaupapa, and ignored the impact of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy on Kalaupapa residents.

"People in Hawai'i should be outraged at this," Law said.

Law also accused Tayman of presenting information out of context and exaggerating — or in some cases inventing — key scenes in the book.

Ann Malo and Law both raise concerns about the book's closing image of Makia Malo waking from a dream, first confused then reassured by his surroundings. Law said the scene perpetuates the image of people with Hansen's disease as passive and unempowered.

While Ann Malo said the incident never happened, Tayman maintains the scene is based on conversations he had with Makia Malo about his dreams and his own observations of Malo sleeping and waking.

Tayman said the criticism, while unjust, hasn't affected his admiration of Malo, Breitha and other Kalaupapa residents.

"I think it's evident on every page that the book is a very respectful, very admiring, heroic account of everybody in that community," he said. "I'm saddened that Olivia and Makia don't agree with that view."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.