At the October 24 meeting, many members of the Greenhorn Valley Book Club were planning to attend the All Pueblo Reads Public Author Talk featuring Alka Joshi. The event was held at the Rawlings Library in Pueblo from 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 26. Greenhorn Library Manager Linda Lewis reserved a table for the Greenhorn Valley Book Club so that members could attend.
Joshi wrote, The Henna Artist, which the book club was reviewing during the meeting on October 24.
She is an internationally known bestselling author.
Her debut novel, The Henna Artist, immediately became a New York Times bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Pick. It has been translated into 29 languages and is currently in development at Netflix as a TV series. Joshi was born in India and came to the U.S. with her family at the age of nine.
Most members of the book club agreed that they liked The Henna Artist, although most also found the treatment of women and double standards per the class system to be disturbing.
The book demonstrated a lot of twists and turns in the life of the main characters while weaving an intriguing story. Several members commented on the author’s ability to create such realistic descriptions that you felt you could smell the smells described and see the bright colors of the women’s sarees.
The book club members expressed opinions that the book contained a lot of good messages. As mentioned, it contained vivid examples of the treatment of women and the lower classes in India’s caste system. It was mentioned that the book also contained other worthwhile messages regarding family relationships, life’s consequences, and the importance of a good reputation.
Joshi did a lot of preliminary work for the reader to help them understand the book, including a list of main characters and their relationships and a glossary of Indian terms used.
The next meeting of the Greenhorn Valley Book Club will be held on Thursday, November 21 from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Greenhorn Branch of the Pueblo City-County Library. The club will discuss The Unicorn Woman, by Gayl Jones. Everyone is welcome whether they have read the book or not.