World Literature Book Club Selections for April and May

On April 19 we will read The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason.  In 1886, piano tuner Edgar Drake leaves London for the jungles of Burma, where he has been asked to repair a grand piano belonging to a British army officer who uses the piano and music to help keep the peace among warring local Burmese princes. I have ordered print copies, an audiobook and the movie version to pick up at the first floor circulation desk.

On May 10, we will read Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa In the small Palestinian village of Ein Hod a father leads a procession of his family and workers through the olive groves. As they move through the trees the green fruits drop onto the orchard floor; the ancient cycle of the seasons providing another bountiful harvest. In 1948, the Abulheja family are forcibly removed from their ancestral home in Ein Hod and sent to live in a refugee camp in Jenin. Through Amal, the bright granddaughter of the patriarch, we witness the stories of her brothers: one, a stolen boy who becomes an Israeli soldier; the other who in sacrificing everything for the Palestinian cause will become his enemy. Amal’s own dramatic story threads its way through six decades of Palestinian-Israeli tension, eventually taking her into exile in Pennsylvania in America. I have ordered a Large Print copy as well as print edition.

Meetings begin at 6:30 in the ground floor Meeting Room.

We will vote at the May meeting for the next choices.  Let Win know if you want to add a book to the list of choices.  We are open to all genres – the only requirement is that the plot occur outside the United States. It can be any time period. (Win’s email  is wflint at mvlc.org)