Welcome to our third book club chat of the year: In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa. I’m interested to hear what everyone’s reading experiences were like with this book.
Ground rules remain the same as they always have. For those of you who might be joining us for the first time (hello new friends!) all are welcome. All of our topics are numbered and we ask that you refer to them below by that number to help people find the conversation topics they are looking for. If you are responding to someone else’s thoughts, please try to respond directly to them as suits your own ponderings. Also, note that while I’ve never once had to use it and don’t expect to now, I’ll delete comments that are not germane to our discussion or get out of hand.
In addition to the topics here, we will also be talking on our Facebook group, Cannonball Read Book Chat so feel free to wander over there throughout the course of the day and evening.
On to the topics:
- The book focuses on Aleppo of thirty years ago. What meaning does it make for you of the Aleppo of the past few years?
- Though unnamed, our narrator is a part of the majority Sunni population, and is led by her politically active uncles, to embrace the hatred of the Alawite minority. How does that relate to your country today?
- What does the multifaceted understandings of the various women living in the same society illuminate for you?
- How do you feel Khalifa managed in his writing from a feminine voice?
- Khalifa has suffered violence for his work, does that feel justified to you?
What say you?