Reading the World discussion

A historical fiction, Henna House is an "evocative and stirring novel about a young woman living in the fascinating and rarely portrayed community of Yemenite Jews of the mid-twentieth century... the saga begins in Yemen in 1920, when Adela Damari’s parents desperately seek a future husband for their young daughter.

After passage of the Orphan’s Decree, any unbetrothed Jewish child left orphaned will be instantly adopted by the local Muslim community. With her parents’ health failing, and no spousal prospects in sight, Adela’s situation looks dire until her uncle arrives from a faraway city, bringing with him a cousin and aunt who introduce Adela to the powerful rituals of henna tattooing. Suddenly, Adela’s eyes are opened to the world, and she begins to understand what it means to love another and one’s heritage. She is imperiled, however, when her parents die and a prolonged drought threatens their long-established way of life. She and her extended family flee to the city of Aden where Adela encounters old loves, discovers her true calling, and is ultimately betrayed by the people and customs she once held dear...

Henna House is an intimate family portrait and a panorama of history. From the traditions of the Yemenite Jews, to the far-ranging devastation of the Holocaust, to the birth of the State of Israel, Eve offers an unforgettable coming-of-age story and a textured chronicle of a fascinating period in the twentieth century."

Is anyone else reading this? I did not really know what to expect or have high hopes for it but found it pretty interesting. The females created their own sub culture by having the henna "parties" where they could confide without the men. Both the Muslim and Jewish women.

Spoilers here - watch out:
I just finished the book. I found it to be an uneven book. A great deal of history which I did not know about, but there were long passages of Adela's story which were slow going and then two paragraphs of decades of Asaf or Binyamin's story which was incredibly interesting. I felt that I never understood why Adela's mother was the way she was. I didn't really understand why Adela married Asaf after she fell in love with B. or why Hani would betray the cousin she loved, although the author attempted to make that all make sense. HOWEVER, as K mentions, the henna parties were wonderful. The women and their sisterhood was well depicted and the insights into Yemen were great also.