The Book Club will discuss
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine.
The story centers on 72-year-old Aaliya Saleh who lives alone in her Beirut apartment, surrounded by stockpiles of books. Godless, fatherless, childless, and divorced, she is her family's "unnecessary appendage." Yet, this reclusive woman lives a powerful life of the mind. Every year, she translates a new favorite book into Arabic, then stows it away. Her 37 translations have never been read by anyone. The book follows Aaliya's digressive mind as it muses on literature, philosophy, art, her past, and the past and present of war-ravaged Beirut. As she tries to overcome her aging body and spontaneous emotional upwellings, Aaliya is faced with an unthinkable disaster that threatens to shatter the little life she has left.
This will be a leaderless discussion, so please prepare one or two questions/observations to share with the group.
Banter Books in downtown Fremont offers a 15% discount on this book if you mention your affiliation with GNV at the checkout.