Henna House by Nomi Eve– 320 pages
Book Blurb:
Nomi Eve’s vivid 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.
My Review: 3 stars
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This book is an interesting, coming of age story about a young Yemenite Jewish girl that offers much historical detail. I have to admit, there were times that the details of the henna got to be to exhaustive as did the myriad of family relations, however that was mostly in the first half of the book. The second half of the book was much more plot driven. I learned and appreciated, as the book went on, that Henna is it’s own character and was an intricate, magical and mystical language of women. Additionally, I had never heard of Operation On Wings Of Eagles aka Operation Magic Carpet and I was fascinated to learn of this rescue mission of the Jews of Yemen to Israel. This book ultimately focuses on love, secrets, treachery, family, trust, survival and the power of Henna.
Quotes I liked:
Hope is not a sin, neither is fidelity.”
-“We were perfect for each other. We were each other’s armor. And in that moment, we became each other’s lance, sword and shield. We couldn’t say all of this, because we were just children, so we laughed, because life was hard and laughing was easy.”
-“She also said that the past had pockets in it, and that if you knew how, you could pick and chose the things you found in those pockets and then use them for your own purposes in the present.”
-“We make choices and choices make us.”
-“Souls live on in stories. And the story—why, it can be as big or little as you wish.”
