Leslie provided us with two delicious soups! A butternut squash soup with hints of curry and her family favorite, a sausage bean and kale soup. Just what we needed after a week spent hibernating during a mild winter ice storm. Lis brought a beautiful and abundant fruit tray. Caral G brought a gorgeous salad and Diana made Arnora's recipe of hot corn dip. Denise provided the sour cream lemon bundt cake and we had some lovely wines. Arnora brought salted nuts (a favorite of mine) and a floral bouquet for the table.
We missed Carla A, Pam, Janie, Terry, and our "adjunct" members Tammy, Lou, Darby, and Terry (always in our hearts.)
Our second book of the year is the bestselling memoir, "The Girl with Seven Names," co-authored by Hyeonseo Lee and D. B. John. Arnora recommended this book after having read it for her church book club.
Hyeonseo Lee grew up in North Korea on the border of China. She escaped to China in 1997 at age seventeen. Then, in 2008, she went to live in Seoul, South Korea where she graduated from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. She is now married to her American husband, Brian Gleason. They live in S. Korea and Hyeonseo is a regular speaker on the international stage fostering human rights and awareness of the plight of North Koreans. Her TED talk has been viewed nearly four million times.
This short synopsis does not begin to describe the long and arduous journey Hyeonseo makes from her complicated birth to the life she is living now. Growing up in North Korea under the regime of the 'Kim" dynasty. N. Korean borders are closed to people coming in or going out. Information about the outside world and N. Korea's own history is carefully guarded and administered by the supreme leader. His grandfather was Kim Il-sung who was the "founder and first supreme leader" after its establishment in 1948. His father was Kim Jong-Il, the second supreme leader until his death in 1994.
Hyeonseo describes her family and her life growing up in N. Korea and the "education" she received during her formative years and never questioning their loyalty or the methods used to enforce it. Until the famine that occurred in the 1990s. Circumstances that led her into the homes of certain friends and relatives in different parts of the country started to pull back the curtain of the lies they'd been fed. Because her family lived at the border of China she decides to cross the bridge with a friend with the intention of returning. But, that fateful move sent her on a 12-year, harrowing journey of hiding out in China and S. Korea. Changing her name and identity (seven times) as she moved from place to place she narrowly escapes border guards, a brothel, and a physical attack until, through cunning, deception, and sheer force of will to survive she is reunited with her family.
The book was well received and rated a 5. We all agreed there is a special category of book where it is well written, well researched (if it's a biography) and we are glad we have read it because it opened our minds to a subject we were unaware. However, the subject matter is hard, cruel, devastating, and hard to wrap our heads around. To say we "love" such a book seems not to convey the accuracy of our feelings but I am working on finding, or making a word for that!
Our next book is "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus and we will meet at Denise's home. In April, we will discuss "The Book of Form and Emptiness" by Ruth Ozeki at Diana's. Hostesses are set through July.
For the time being, we are moving our meetings to Sunday afternoon. This should help us avoid driving after dark and fighting with work traffic on a Friday evening.
Also, we have been talking about working on a "classic" book at some point. We haven't decided yet which month to discuss it but I think we have decided on a book.
The Little Prince is short (less than one hundred pages) and written by the French aviator and author, Antoine St. Exupery. The book was first published in 1943 making this its 80th anniversary. It is the second most translated book in the world after the Bible. It is a sweet, funny, poignant story that is deceiving in its simplicity. It is a story for children of all ages. I recommend the first translation by Katherine Wood or, the 70th Anniversary edition translated by Richard Howard. The anniversary edition has wonderful side notes about the author's bio and letters written by many people praising the book and its impact on their lives.
On a final note and interesting coincidence, the Morgan Library owns the original manuscript and drawings by the author who also illustrated the book. You can find a couple of informative talks about the collection on their website. Also, you can find several audio recordings for free on YouTube.
