Book Club

"The Pearl that Broke it’s Shell" By Nadia Hashimi

Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness,

fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and

emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See. In Kabul,

2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only

sporadically attend school, and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient

custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she

is of marriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to the market, and chaperone her

older sisters. But Rahima is not the first in her family to adopt this unusual custom. A century

earlier, her great-great grandmother, Shekiba, left orphaned by an epidemic, saved herself

and built a new life the same way. Crisscrossing in time, The Pearl the Broke Its Shell

interweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who share similar

destinies. But what will happen once Rahima is of marriageable age? Will Shekiba always live

as a man? And if Rahima cannot adapt to life as a bride, how will she survive?

Upcoming Book Clubs

Sun Jul 27th: "The Summer Book" By Tove Jansson

Sun Aug 31st: "The Bees" By Carol Ann Duffy

Sun Sep 28th: "Yellowface" By Rebecca F. Kuang

Sun Oct 26th: "The Spring of Kasper Meier" By Ben Fergusson

Sun Nov 30th: "The Nightingale" By Kristin Hannah