Our next book discussion will be set in Guatemala through the book "When the Ground Turn it in its Sleep" by Sylvia Sellers-García.
Here's the Book Summary:
Nítido
Amán knows he was born in Guatemala, but he doesn't know where, or why
his family left. Raised in the United States by his immigrant parents,
he never asked them about his homeland as a child-and they never talked
about it.
When Nítido loses his father to Alzheimer's disease, his despondent
mother grows increasingly silent. Realizing that his only links to the
past are disappearing, he travels to Guatemala, against his mother's wishes, to see what he can uncover for himself.
He arrives in
the tiny town of Río Roto, where he suspects his family came from,
prepared to ask questions, and perhaps find work teaching there. But
when he is mistaken for the new local priest, Nítido decides to play
the part, thinking that the confessional confidences of the townspeople
will prove more fruitful than ordinary conversation in leading him to
the answers he seeks. What he finds in Río Roto, though, is a place
shrouded in silence and secrets, a place that can neither escape nor
give voice to the unnamed horrors it has survived. Nítido is at once
determined and frightened to unearth these horrors-even as they force
him to reevaluate his own haunted past.
In elegant, hypnotic
prose, Sylvia Sellers-García delivers a story of divergent cultures and
divided identities, of conflicts between generations and
civilizations, of mourning, and, finally, of healing. When the Ground
Turns in Its Sleep marks her arrival as a distinctive and powerful new
voice.
Looking forward to meeting once again in Oakland, near the 12th Street BART station at the Awaken Cafe!
Next Book to Read:
April - Shanghai Girls - Lisa See
Hi everyone! We are going to try something different and meet in the
East Bay, near 19th Street Bart in Oakland at a cafe called Tierra Mía.
We are also meeting an hour later at 3pm. We will be discussing the book
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris.
Here's a Book Summary:
In
a blazing hot desert in Saudi Arabia, a search party is dispatched to
find a missing young woman. Thus begins a novel that offers rare insight
into the inner workings of a country in which women must wear the abaya
in public or risk denunciation by the religious police; where ancient
beliefs, taboos, and customs frequently clash with a fast-moving,
technology-driven modern world.
The missing woman is Nouf Shrawi, one of several sheltered teenaged daughters of a powerful local family.
Hired to track her and her potential abductor is Nayir, a solitary,
pious desert guide of dubious origin, and a friend of the family. As
Nayir uncovers clues that only serve to deepen the mystery behind Nouf's
disappearance, he teams up with Katya, a liberated Saudi woman who is
engaged to one of Nouf's brothers.
In a land of prayers, purity,
and patriarchy, the dreams of mere mortals often go unrealized, and the
consequences of misbehavior for both men and women are disastrous. The
final revelation of the truth forces Nayir to confront his own attitudes
about women and society and in his deepening relationship with Katya,
to face up to his own long-denied yearnings for love and intimacy.
See you on Sunday February 15th (after Valentine's Day) at 3pm in Oakland at Tierra Mia Coffee, near 19th Street BART station.
Next Books to Read:
March: When the ground turn in its sleep by Sylvia Sellers-García
April: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
