The Secret Keeper

We chose “The Secret Keeper” by Kate Morton for or March book club. This novel is a mystery, historical novel, romance and family drama all wrapped up in one elaborate story. It begins with a memory of Laurel, a sixteen year old in the 1960’s. She is witness to a violent crime but has pushed the event out of her mind for the past 50 years. Now an accomplished actress, she reflects on her own memories and begins to wonder about this piece of her past.

Her mother, Dorothy, is approaching her last days and Laurel realizes that if she wants answers to the many tangled and unanswered questions about the past she must investigate now, while her mother is alive. Nostalgia, memories and family bonds tie siblings together as Laurel works to solve the mysteries of her mother’s past, learning she kept many secrets.

The story mixes history and fleshes out the history of family and strangers from the 1930’s, to the 1960’s and into the modern day. Slowly Laurel finds more and more detail and comes to realize an amazing dramatic plot twist that none of us saw coming.

It was a beautifully written story, very visual in description and detail. The mystery of all the events could at times be confusing, trying to keep each intertwining tale straight, but it was enjoyable and kept all of us reading until the end. It was a great choice, and as it was set in England, we had a beautiful tea, complete with little cucumber sandwiches, and a variety of sweet herbal teas and some delicious scones.  

Big in Japan

In February we were in for a delightful and different story. We chose “Big in Japan” by Jennifer Griffith, a lovely author who we were able to speak with over the phone during our meeting.

This tale begins with an overweight young man, Buck, living in Texas who visits Japan on a business trip with his parents. While there, he is swept up into the world of Sumo Wrestling, a completely unfamiliar sport to him, and to most of us readers. The story follows Buck as he endures the grueling training, abuses from fellow wrestlers, and culture shock. Buck’s attitude and strong convictions help him through tough times and face long odds to overcome his challenges. There’s a sweet romantic story to go along with the fascinating Sumo tale, and a lot of really fun and interesting cultural details included.

Some of the treats and decor.

Several of our book club members had lived in or visited Japan and we were able to have a myriad of interesting foods to try during our meeting, some directly imported from Japan. Our readers universally loved this book and we talked a lot about the motivations of various characters and discussed many topics that are touched on in this story. We were extremely lucky, in that we had the chance to touch base directly with the author from her home in Arizona.

It was fascinating (and really fun) to hear her answer some of our questions, even speak Japanese with our host who had also lived in Japan. It was a treat for all of our members to be able to learn a little more about Japan, about the author, how she came up with the story, and express to her how much we enjoyed the book. Thanks Jennifer for being so accommodating and taking the time to speak with us, and for creating such a universally enjoyed book!

Tea and soup with Tofu.

Yay! Pocky!

My Name Used to be Muhammad

We started off 2015 with "My Name Used to be Muhammad" by Tito Momen and Jeff Benedict. This is the autobiography of Tito Momen, who grew up in Nigeria and was raised in a strict Muslim culture. He was taught and brought up to be a future Imam, and was sent to school in Syria and Cairo to learn and prepare for his role.

Clearly he is a very intelligent young man, memorizing the Qur'an at a very young age and filled with a desire to please his parents. He is naturally curious, has strong logical understanding, and is artistically gifted, though this is discouraged roughly by his father.  He tells how he went from a young man, through his teenage and young adult years and becoming exposed to Western culture. Some of which, was not the best influences. He becomes involved with a young lady, and at the same time falls for the allure of Western pop music, drinking, smoking and other vices.

Things change when he meets a friend who has changed from a smoking, drinking partier to a religious and disciplined man. This piques his curiosity and he attends a congregation at this new Christian religion that his friend has embraced. This turns out to be a small branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Cairo. They are not allowed to proselytize but he is asking all the questions, reads both the Bible and the Book of Mormon and gains a testimony of Christ. He ends up being baptized a member and then things take a turn for the worse.

Faced with the bitter anger of family and those of the Muslim faith, he attempts to flee Egypt but is thwarted and returned to be imprisoned for converting to Christianity. He spends 15 years in prison but is blessed and protected by the Lord on many occasions. While much of the story is difficult to imagine (prison, the cruelty and unfairness of the culture to Christianity) the topics are handled in a gentle manner and it is clear he is writing with no malice. The story is a beautiful arc of faith and devotion to ones' beliefs, the ties of family and the blessings of Christ in our lives. 

All of those who were able to read it were very impressed and many of us described the story as 'eye opening'. The blessings of the freedoms we enjoy in the United States, particularly as it relates to religious freedom is often taken for granted. It was a book most of us were kind of nervous to begin, but unanimously was declared to be a page turner. Definitely an uplifting story and a privilege to have read.