We met at Julie’s to discuss Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie. From the moment we arrived, the aroma from Julie’s culinary talents was inviting. The meal and the desserts were as good as anticipated! Annie, Christe, Ellen, Jo, Judy, Julie, and Nanc attended.
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| View from Julie's on beautiful day |
Our non-book discussion included talking about the eagles that are attempting to build a nest in the pine trees in front of Jo’s house, Emma's travels and Annie having to trust that she'll stay safe, and Annie’s “DBW” (you had to be there). As Annie noted in her post-meeting e-mail, "Julie and I were talking before I left and she exclaimed how wonderful it is to be deepening our friendships - and I couldn't agree more. Each time we meet we go deeper into ourselves and what we hold dear. Thanks for sharing the 'real' parts of yourselves."
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| Eagles in Jo's pine tree |
It appeared that Ellen was the only one who actually finished reading the book, although both Julie and Annie were nearly finished. The rest of us either never started, or gave up rather early in the book.
From what we were told by those who read the book, Dunia (the jinnia) wishes to save the world from four dark jinn who are set on bringing about devastation. Rushdie makes them responsible for the world’s horrors, such as using religion to justify killing people. The four dark jinn are defeated, and so the world does have hope. But the world traded the ability to dream for “peace, prosperity, understanding, wisdom, goodness, and truth.” The implication is that the human gift of imagining can’t exist without hatred, anger, and destructive behaviors.
Julie agreed with the sentiment that if we took the religion out of God, people would believe in God. She followed up by reading this excerpt:
“You will see, as time goes by,” said Ibn Rushd, “That in the end it will be religion that will make men turn away from God. The godly are God’s worst advocates. It may take a thousand and one years but in the end religion will shrivel away and only then will we begin to live in God’s truth.”
Ellen felt like Rushdie has an artist’s mind and thinks way too fast for the average reader.
“This is a story from our past, from a time so remote that we argue, sometimes, about whether we should call it history or mythology. Some of us call it a fairy tale. But on this we agree: that to tell a story about the past is to tell a story about the present. To recount a fantasy, a story of the imaginary, is also a way of recounting a tale about the actual. If this were not true then the deed would be pointless, and we try in our daily lives to eschew pointlessness whenever possible.”
Ellen also felt that parts of the book were funny and enjoyed the references to pop culture and other world events.
A tide of horror spread across the city and beyond and the president went on TV to calm the nation’s fears. That night even this most articulate of chief executives looked ashen and at a loss; his familiar nostrums, we will not sleep until, those responsible will be, you harm the United States of America at your peril, make no mistake, my fellow Americans, this crime will be avenged, sounded hollow and impotent. The president had no weapons that could deal with this attacker.
In general, no one felt like they could recommend this book to anyone, but there are some people who may enjoy this unconventional and funny read.
March meeting:
Book: Jewelweed by David Rhodes
Location: Nanc's
Date: Thursday, May 12, 2016
Time: 6:30pm 
Upcoming meetings:
June 9, 2016: Book TBA at Linda's
July 2016: Book TBA at Jo's
Books we've read so far:
January 2014 - Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
February 2014 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
March 2014 - Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
April 2014 - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
May 2014 - The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
June 2014 - Breaking Free by Marilyn Sewell
July 2014 - The Orphan Train by Kristina Baker Kline
August 2014 - The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
September 2014 - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
October 2014 - The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
November 2014 - The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
December 2014 - No book. Holiday gathering.
January 2015 - No book. Watched The Book Thief
February 2015 - The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
March 2015 - Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
April 2015 - The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
May 2015 - The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
June 2015 - The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
July 2015 - Still Alice by Lisa Genova
August 2015 - The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
September 2015 - Ruby by Cynthia Bond
October 2015 - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
November 2015 - No book. Watched To Kill a Mockingbird
December 2015 - No book. Holiday gathering.
January 2016 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
February 2016 - Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
March 2016 - Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
March 2016 - Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
April 2016 - Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie
