How do we save the world?

This was a wonderful discussion to end our last book club event of 2008!

This book provided a unique format to sharing two stories in one and we each shared which story attracted us more, Alma (the Dominican woman living in Vermont circa early 2000s) or Isabel (the Spanish rectoress who accompanied the orphaned children to the "New World" who were live carriers for the smallpox vaccine in the early 19th century).

We found parallels between the women as well as the male characters in both stories, where saving the world can be seen is different ways. It seems that with Alma and Isabel, saving the world started within themselves by figuring out their own life path and their own personal contribution to life in general. Whereas with the male charaters, Richard and Don Francisco, they are working towards saving the world, but does the ego and arrogance blinds them to forget the well intentions of doing something good in this world?

It was a great discussion and looking forward to more of them next year!

Title of Hope - Saving the World

We are at the end of 2008 and we'll have our final book discussion on Julia Alvarez's fifth novel: Saving the World (a loaded title, of course).
Here's a summary of her book:
In Alvarez's novel, two women living two centuries apart each face "a crisis of the soul" when their fates are tied to idealistic men whose commitments to medical humanitarian missions end in disillusionment.

Alma Heubner's husband, Richard, goes to the Dominican Republic to help eradicate AIDS, while Alma, a bestselling Latina writer, stays at home in Vermont to work on a story about a real, ill-fated 19th-century expedition chaperoned by Dona Isabel Sendales y Gomez, the spinster director of a Spanish orphanage who agrees to vaccinate 20 of her charges with cowpox and bring them from Spain to Central America to prevent future smallpox epidemics. While the leader of the anti-smallpox expedition, Dr. Francisco Balmis, and Richard see their missions collapse in defeat, Dona Isabel and Alma surmount their personal depressions to find inner strength.

Join us for another great conversation on Sun Dec 14th at 2pm in the Mission District, near 24th Street BART.

The discussion of continual enlightment

It was the story of Wangari Maathai's journey from rural Kenya to becoming a worldwide environmental leader trying to give Kenya and the world a secured sustainable future.

We started with an analysis of her memoir and how more factual than emotional it felt, and was this done on purpose or subconsciously?

We were quite intrigued by her divorce in so many ways: who was this man she married? who would have she become had she not divorced? as well as how discriminated she was for being divorced.

What about her role of mother? We felt her baby was the Green Belt Movement and not so much her children, but we're not exactly sure.

We couldn't stop talking about this book, and there was more to discuss had we not already gone over 2 hours of conversation! I think we all left the discussion with a feeling of inspiration and activism.

Who is Wangari Maathai and why did she win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004?

Read our next book written by 2004 Nobel Peace Price winner from Kenya, Wangari Maathai, who wrote her memoir "Unbowed" about her life and the starting of the Green Belt movement.

Here's a summary of the book:
Born in 1940, Matthai attended primary school at a time when Kenyan girls were not educated; went on to earn a Ph.D. and became head of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Nairobi before founding Kenya's Green Belt Movement in 1977, which mobilized thousands of women to plant trees in an effort to restore the country's indigenous forests.

Because Kenya's environmental degradation was largely due to the policies of a corrupt government, she then made the Green Belt Movement part of a broader campaign for democracy. Maathai endured personal attacks by the ruling powers-President Moi denounced her as a "wayward" woman-and engaged in political activities that landed her in jail several times. This memoir (after The Green Belt Movement) documents the remarkable achievements of an influential environmentalist and activist.

Come and join us on our book club discussion on Sunday November 2nd at 2pm in the North Beach district at Cafe Greco (423 Columbus Avenue).

November 2nd is daylight savings day so please take this into account when coming to the book club.

Did his second book come close to his unforgettabe first book?

YES! We all agreed that A thousand Splendid Suns was just as intense but had a distinctive voice from The Kite Runner.

We were all eager to discuss the characters of Mariam and Laila and their relationship to each other. We saw how environments influence one's personality and motivation for living. And even though disastrous situations happened quite frequently in the book, we could appreciate the rare moments of love and loyalty that would arise subtlety throughout the book.

Such a page turner! It was interesting to also follow the stages of Afghanistan in its times from the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan to civil war to post 9/11. Hosseini gaves us a glimpse of how life in Afghanistan has been for many women, whose suffering is invisible and silent.

Did you love The Kite Runner?

Well then... here's your opportunity to read his second book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" that has a focus more targeted to women in Afghanistan (at least that is how I understand it).

Here's a summary of the book:
Afghan-American novelist Hosseini follows up his bestselling The Kite Runner with another searing epic of Afghanistan in turmoil. The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny through the lives of two women. Mariam is the scorned illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman, forced at age 15 into marrying the 40-year-old Rasheed, who grows increasingly brutal as she fails to produce a child. Eighteen later, Rasheed takes another wife, 14-year-old Laila, a smart and spirited girl whose only other options, after her parents are killed by rocket fire, are prostitution or starvation.

Against a backdrop of unending war, Mariam and Laila become allies in an asymmetrical battle with Rasheed. This tale is a powerful, harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters.

Come and join the discussion in the Lower Haight district at Cafe du Soleil on Sunday September 28 at 2pm!

Inspired by a courageous young woman

We had a wonderful meeting discussing the life of Ma Yan and exchanging our experiences when we were her age. We read a mature woman who was consistently optimistic about her future and her values were incredibly solid.

We all learned more personally how life can be for a girl in rural China and we wonder whether we would have the same courage as Ma Yan to be determined to be educated. We were happy to hear that we could find what happened afterwards with Ma Yan.

Ma Yan's journal gives us insight to her family, friends and education. The book did a great job in providing a background context in several sections to get a better sense of her situation when she was writing her journal.

There's something to be said for having a positive attitude - it can make the impossible possible and we see it in Ma Yan's life!