Dinah - the sole daughter of Jacob, finds her own way when she cuts off her own family

I've been told number of times to read this book for the WOW Book Club, and finally it happened and no regrets!

We all enjoyed The Red Tent, which highlights the story of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, son of Issac and grandson to Abraham (the one who almost sacrificed his elder son Issac to prove his loyalty to God). Dinah is raised by her mother and three sisters - all of them married to Jacob, and spends her time in the red tent, exclusively for women who have their menstruation (hence the name). But with Dinah they make an exception and we get to see her perspective of her family from child to young woman.

She becomes visible to Jacob and her brothers once the prince Shalem of Shechem falls in love with her and she loves him back. Jacob and her brothers afraid to lose their control over Dinah, who they hadn't even cared for before, sets upon a horrific tragedy that leads Dinah to curse her family and escapes to Egypt.

It is in Egypt where Dinah's life becomes more optimistic and empowered, where she finally finds her own way to become the best midwife in town.

Of course many more things happen throughout the whole story, such as the character of Werenro, a redhead eccentric messanger of Dinah's grandmother, whose life is heartbreaking and yet the saviour of Dinah in Egypt; Meryt, Inna and Rachel - all midwives who influenced Dinah to set her on a path to become the best midwife she can be; Benia - a beautiful man who gives Dinah a chance to love freely and find peace in the rest of her days.

It was powerful to see this one character who's mentioned 8 times in the bible, a complex and resilient woman of her times in Anita Diamant's incredible book.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

This book was highly recommended to me when I first initiated this book club and it felt like a good time to read it. We'll be discussing The Red Tent by Anita Diamant in October 2012.

Here's the Book Summary:

Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past.

Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.

We'll be meeting at the new coffee shop Flywheel Coffee Roasters in the Haight neighbourhood on Sun Oct 21!

Next Books:

November 2012 - In the time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Honor Lost: Love and Death in Modern Day Jordan

We'll be traveling to Jordan to read our next book choice for September 2012: Honor Lost: Love and Death in Modern Day Jordan by Norma Khouri.

Here's a book summary:

Dalia was a young, beautiful Arabian Muslim living with her family in Amman, Jordan. At the age of twenty-five, she unexpectedly fell in love with Michael, a major in the Royal Army, and a Catholic. For a Muslim woman, any relationship with a Catholic man is forbidden, and Dalia was only too aware that flouting this rule could cost her her life.

But they were deeply in love, and with the help of Dalia's lifelong friend, Norma, with whom she ran a hair salon, they went to extraordinary lengths to meet in secret. Dalia and Michael were only alone on a handful of occasions, and their relationship remained entirely chaste. Although they covered their tracks meticulously, one of Dalia's brothers became suspicious and she was suddenly gripped by the terrifying reality of what might happen to them all.

Shocking and dramatic, "Honor Lost" will strike a chord with women everywhere and is a testimony to the courage and strength of women who are prepared to defy generations ofmale dominance.

We'll be meeting at Blue Danube Coffee House in the Richmond neighborhood on Sunday Sept 23 at 2pm.

Next Books:

October 2012: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

November 2012: In the time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

August 2012: Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness

Moving now to the African continent, we'll read about the story of Nicola Fuller and her journey through the book "Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness" by Alexandra Fuller.

Here's a Book Summary:
In this book Alexandra Fuller returns to Africa and to her unforgettable family. At the heart of this family, and central to the lifeblood of her latest story, is Fuller’s iconically courageous mother, Nicola. Born on the Scottish Isle of Skye to a warlike clan of highlanders and raised in Kenya's perfect equatorial light, Nicola holds dear the values most likely to get you hurt or killed in Africa: loyalty to blood, passion for land, and a holy belief in the restorative power of all animals.

We see Nicola as an irrepressible child in western Kenya, then with the man who fell in love with her, Tim Fuller. The young couple begin their life in a lavender colored honeymoon period, when east Africa lies before them with all the promise of its liquid honeyed light, even as the British empire in which they both once believed wanes. But in short order, an accumulation of mishaps and tragedies bump up against history until the Fullers find themselves in a world they hardly recognize.

A story of survival and war, love and madness, loyalty and forgiveness, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness is an intimate exploration of the author’s family and of the price of being possessed by this uncompromising, fertile, death-dealing land.

We'll be meeting in the Van Ness area at the Quetzal Cafe on Sunday August 19 at 2pm!

Next books to read:
September 2012 - Honor Lost: Love And Death In Modern Day Jordan by Norma Khouri
October 2012 - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

July 2012 Book: Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

For the heart of the summer, I thought it would be nice to read a light summer read for a change and go through the travels of cuisine with "Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertant Education of a Reluctant Chef" by Gabrielle Hamilton.

Here's a book summary:
Blood, Bones & Butter follows an unconventional journey through the many kitchens Gabrielle Hamilton has inhabited through the years: the rural kitchen of her childhood, where her adored mother stood over the six-burner with an oily wooden spoon in hand; the kitchens of France, Greece, and Turkey, where she was often fed by complete strangers and learned the essence of hospitality; the soulless catering factories that helped pay the rent; Hamilton’s own kitchen at Prune, with its many unexpected challenges; and the kitchen of her Italian mother-in-law, who serves as the link between Hamilton’s idyllic past and her own future family—the result of a difficult and prickly marriage that nonetheless yields rich and lasting dividends.

Blood, Bones & Butter is an unflinching and lyrical work. Gabrielle Hamilton’s story is told with uncommon honesty, grit, humor, and passion. By turns epic and intimate, it marks the debut of a tremendous literary talent.

Next 3 book choices: July to September 2012

Many of you have requested to have a list of books beforehand to have more time in advance to read the books that we'll be discussing in the next three months. Here are the choices:

July 2012: Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton - Blood, Bones & Butter follows an unconventional journey through the many kitchens Hamilton has inhabited through the years: from the rural kitchen of her childhood, where her adored mother stood over the six-burner with an oily wooden spoon in hand to the kitchens of France, Greece, and Turkey. This is what I would consider a light read for our book club that involves traveling and food!

August 2012: Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller - A story of survival and war, love and madness, loyalty and forgiveness, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness is an intimate exploration of the author’s family and of the price of being possessed by this uncompromising, fertile, death-dealing land (Zimbabwe). This book is a sequel to the book "Don't Let go to the Dogs Tonight" which I highly recommend, if you want to try reading it before this book.

September 2012: Honor Lost: Love And Death In Modern Day Jordan by Norma Khouri - Norma Khouri's book is a gift to the memory of her friend, in which she recounts a powerful love story that ends in an appalling tragedy, and also attempts to bring to the world's attention the continuing practice of honor killing in Jordan -- an ancient tradition that encourages the murder of women considered to have dishonored their families. 

Feel free to share your book suggestions in the comments of this blog posting. See you all soon!

June Book: The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

After a stop in the Middle East, we are heading over to China, as we'll be discussing our next book "The Woman Warrior; Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts" by Maxine Hong Kingston.

Here's a book summary:

The Woman Warrior is a pungent, bitter, but beautifully written memoir of growing up Chinese American in Stockton, California. Maxine Hong Kingston (China Men) distills the dire lessons of her mother's mesmerizing "talk-story" tales of a China where girls are worthless, tradition is exalted and only a strong, wily woman can scratch her way upward.

The author's America is a landscape of confounding white "ghosts"--the policeman ghost, the social worker ghost--with equally rigid, but very different rules. Like the woman warrior of the title, Kingston carries the crimes against her family carved into her back by her parents in testimony to and defiance of the pain.

We will be meeting on Sunday June 3rd at 2pm.

Stay posted for next book to read in July!