The Blank Index discussion

Share your favorite quotes from the book, make sure there are no spoilers included (you can add those after our group meeting).

Add one reference per quote: chapter, section, or page number (+ book edition).

I love the descriptive passage in Part 2, chapter six, page 171, Paperback edition with 321 total pages.... I will only write the beginning + ending sentences here since it is about 5 small paragraphs in length but it is the description of when Dinah first becomes a woman + enters the red tent!

"I walked into the red tent without the water I'd been sent for. But before my mother could open her mouth to scold me, I held up my soiled fingers. "I am not permitted to carry anything either, Mother.

... I found it difficult to speak, and the voices around me melted into a loud happy hum."

From chapter 1:

“If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully. Stories about food show a strong connection. Wistful silences demonstrate unfinished business. The more a daughter knows about the details of her mother's life - without flinching or whining - the stronger the daughter.”

From Chapter 2:
“Death is no enemy, but the foundation of gratitude, sympathy, and art. Of all life’s pleasures, only love owes no debt to death."


“It is terrible how much has been forgotten, which is why, I suppose, remembering seems a holy thing.”


“One of my great secrets was knowing I had the power to make her smile.”