Sunday, January 4, 2009

Thursday meeting, People of the Book

Our next discussion will be this Thursday, January 8th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Check out this link for photos of the actual Sarajevo Haggadah.
And check out this link for the article Brooks wrote for The New Yorker detailing the history of the Sarajevo Haggadah.

Discussion questions for the book are below.

FEBRUARY, 2009
Our February 5th choice for discussion is
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz.
(From Publisher’s Weekly) "This dark and exuberant first novel makes a compelling case for the multiperspectival view of a life, wherein an individual cannot be known or understood in isolation from the history of his family and his nation. The various nationalities and generations are subtended by the recurring motif of fukú, the Curse and Doom of the New World, whose midwife and... victim was a historical personage Diaz will only call the Admiral, in deference to the belief that uttering his name brings bad luck (hint: he arrived in the New World in 1492 and his initials are CC). By the prologue's end, it's clear that this story of one poor guy's cursed life will also be the story of how 500 years of historical and familial bad luck shape the destiny of its fat, sad, smart, lovable and short-lived protagonist."


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

1. When Hanna implores Ozren to solicit a second opinion on Alia’s condition, he becomes angry and tells her, “Not every story has a happy ending.” (p. 37). To what extent do you believe that their perspectives on tragedy and death are cultural? To what extent are they personal?

2. Isak tells Mordechai, “At least the pigeon does no harm. The hawk lives at the expense of other creatures that dwell in the desert.” (p.50). If you were Lola, would you have left the safety of your known life and gone to Palestine? Is it better to live as a pigeon or a hawk? Or is there an alternative?

3. When Father Vistorni asks Rabbi Judah Ayreh to warn the printer that the Church disapproves of one of their recently published texts, Ayreh tells him, “better you do it than to have us so intellectually enslaved that we do it for you.” (p.156). Do you agree or disagree with his argument? With the way he handled Vistorni’s request?

4. What was it, ultimately, that made Father Vistorini approve the Haggadah? Since Brooks leaves this part of the story unclear, how do you imagine it made its way from his rooms to Sarajevo?

5. Several of the novel’s female characters lived in the pre-feminist era and certainly fared poorly at the hands of men. Does the fact that she was pushing for gender equality—not to mention saving lives—justify Sarah Heath’s poor parenting skills? Would women’s rights be where they are today if it weren’t for women like her?

7. Have you ever been in a position where your professional judgment has been called into question? How did you react?

8. Was Hanna being fair to suspect only Amitai of the theft? Do you think charges should have been pressed against the culprits?

9. How did Hanna change after discovering the truth about her father? Would the person she was before her mother’s accident have realized that she loved Ozren? Or risked the dangers involved in returning the codex?

10. The Haggadah's fate illuminates the prejudice and mindless persecution that fills the history of the world. Ozren wonders why more people do not realize "that to be a human being matters more than to be Jew or a Muslim, [or a] Catholic." Does this novel illustrate the necessity of diversity and tolerance in the world for you? Or is it a story of individuals valuing history and art more than religious differences?

11. When do we consider loss in our own lives? What cost and what effect does loss have on our everyday existence? Is it traumatic only when a loved one passes or is there more of a sense of collective loss when looking at centuries of war, loss of life or needless destruction of towns and cities? How do we measure that loss compared to a loss of love or even when a beloved object goes missing?

12. There is an amazing array of “people of the book”—both base and noble—whose lifetimes span some remarkable periods in human history. Who is your favorite and why?

13. People of the Book details time periods through history when Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together in harmony and also describes uglier times when they warred. The survival of the book is a testament to tolerance. Does that history have any relevance for today’s current events?

14. People of the Book tells several stories in the present day and 5 historical periods, Sarajevo in 1940, Vienna in 1894, Venice in 1609, Barcelona in 1492 and Seville 1480. Did any of those historical time periods strike a chord with you?