The Cumberland Barnes & Noble Book Club May Meeting

Thanks to all who attended the April discussion on The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco.

We are looking forward to reading author Marek Halter's "Sarah" for the May 15, 2008 meeting.

Sarah is the passionate, spellbinding story of one of the most famous --- yet least-known --- women of the Bible. The daughter of a lord in the Sumerian city-state Ur, Sarah balks at her father's choice of a husband and flees to the tent-city below. She spends one night there, protected by the kind stranger Abraham, before returning to Ur, haunted by Abraham's memory. To avoid being forced to marry, she secretly drinks a potion that renders her barren --- which Sumerian culture sees as a sign of divine possession. Years later, Sarah sees Abraham again, but now she is the high priestess, the most revered woman in Sumeria, whose renowned beauty never ages. Exalted as she is, Sarah doesn't hesitate when Abraham asks her to join his nomadic life, following the one true God.

From the great ziggurat of Ishtar to the fertile valleys of Canaan, the bedchamber of the Pharaoh to the plateau where Abraham would sacrifice their son Isaac, Sarah immerses readers in an ancient world of spectacle, intrigue, and miracles.

We will meet in the Cafe at the lower level of the Cumberland Barnes and Noble. After our discussion, please join us next door at the Olde Mill Steakhouse for a bite to eat!

FIY we are now asking for a $1 donation that can be given at the meeting to help offset the cost of the meetup fees.