Next Meeting: 10th March at 6:30pm to discuss Elegy, Southwest by Madeleine Watts.
An Unnecessary Woman was written in 2014 and nominated for the US National Book Award. The story is told in the first person by Aaliyah, a 72 year old woman who lives a hermit-like life in Beirut, translating books into Arabic that no-one will ever read. She is, according to the society she lives in, her family and even herself, an unnecessary woman, a burden. As she says, Beiruti society isn’t fond of divorced and childless women.
Her books are hers alone, kept in a dank little storeroom and never seeing the light of day once completed. She knows that her work has no value to anyone but it’s the journey that she loves, the intellectual challenge, the excitement of starting and the satisfaction of finishing.
The plot of the book is quite limited, lurching as it does among Aaliyah’s musings on the past and present, fascinating and descriptive. We loved the use of language and the wryly comic and often bitter asides.
Much of the story revolves around Aaliyah’s relationships. Ahmad is the only man in her life other than her husband, who disappears into the Civil War and emerges as the most feared of men – a torturer. Her relationship with her family is fraught. Aaliyah is the unwanted child, cast to one side after her father’s death and mother’s remarriage.
Her relationship with her neighbours is equally problematic. She has lived in the same apartment for over 50 years but has failed to create any sort of connection with the ‘three witches’ as she calls them.
Her one true friend, Hannah, dies by suicide. The juxtaposition of Aaliyah and Hannah is revealing. Hannah devotes herself to her family, to the harm of her inner life and self-care while Aaliyah is shunned by her family but builds a deep and satisfying inner life – both are ‘unnecessary women’ but it’s an interesting take on two opposite ‘versions’ of women’s lives.
It’s interesting that the book was written by a man, and there was much discussion about whether the characterisation of Aaliyah was a reflection of his own ‘otherness’ in Arab society – and also a vehicle to show off just a bit about his very extensive knowledge and love of literature, language, music and philosophy.
Ratings: Dianne F 3.5, Dianne H 3.5, Kim 4, Janet 4, Margie 3.5, Lesley 4, Veronica 4, Nicola 3, Viv 3.5
We look forward to seeing you again at our next meeting at 6.30pm, Tuesday 10th of March
to discuss Elegy, Southwest by Madeleine Watts.
About Us
We are a group that gets together once a month to discuss good books. Each of us gets to choose a book on a rotational basis, preferably one outside our personal comfort zone – we try to keep the trash to ourselves. After the discussion, we comment on other books we read that month. Most of the time we remain friends after the meeting.
We normally meet at Room 2.1 of the Robina Community Centre’s Boadroom. This building is located opposite the Auditorium entrance of the Robina Library on the second Tuesday of every month from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
A small contribution is required towards the rent of the room, but not if you are a first timer. The amount depends on the number of people attending.
One book title is chosen each month and we all read that book. There is a ‘host’ who introduces and co-ordinates the discussion. The role of host is rotated around the group so that each member has the opportunity to nominate their book (it could also be an author, theme or genre). The host also acts as chairperson for that meeting.
Although we are not a social club (we are readers), we occasionally attend literary events, relevant movies or plays here at the Gold Coast, Brisbane or Byron Bay. We conform to basic meeting practices, and everyone has an equal opportunity to express their opinion. Everyone’s interpretation is valid, as long as it’s expressed respectfully.
We welcome any new members who share our aims and are happy to contribute to our group. Newcomers are not required to have read the book to attend the first meeting and no contribution is required from them at the first meeting attended.
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