The First ‘One Book, Many Communities’ Read of 2016: Suad Amiry’s ‘Sharon and My Mother-in-Law’

The first “One Book, Many Communities” events of 2016 are set to take place next month, and they will focus on Palestinian architect-humorist-scholar Suad Amiry’s Sharon and My Mother-in-Law:

9781400096497The “One Book, Many Communities” project, coordinated by the Librarians and Archivists with Palestine (LAP) group, is a book club that violates boundaries and borders. It launched in January 2015 with readings of Susan Abulhawa’s Mornings in Jenin.

According to LAP’s Melissa Morrone, the project draws inspiration from “One Book, One Town” initiatives, where people in local communities come together to read and discuss a common book. By contrast, “One Book, Many Communities” is a read shared across many communities.

Amiry is an internationally recognized author and winner of Italy’s Nonino Prize for Promoting Peace. She has several funny books under her belt, including Golda Slept Here, Nothing to Lose But Your Life: An 18-Hour Journey with Murad, and her popular Sharon and My Mother-in-law.

As it says in the review by Sarah Statz in Bookslut:

Anyone who’s ever dealt with senior citizens or in-laws, even if they haven’t had to do it under military occupation, will recognize and appreciate the brilliance of those [final] six pages. Amiry tells a personal story, using personal forms of communication, but she also provides flashes of the universal. Pretty impressive stuff, and entirely what one would expect from a woman who got through a Jerusalem checkpoint by flashing her dog’s passport and informing a soldier that “I am the driver of this Jerusalem dog.”

Events scheduled thus far:

January 13, 2016. Private group. Brooklyn, NY, U.S.
January 23, 6pm. Centro Culturale Candiani, Piazzale L. Candiani, 7 Mestre. Venice, Italy.
January 23. Sondrio, Italy.
January 24. 11:45am (after the 10:30am worship service). First Church, 110 North Pearl St. Albany, NY, U.S.
January 26, 7pm. Madison Central Public Library. Sponsored by Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP) and Peregrine Forum. For more information contact rafahsistercity AT yahoo com or visit www.madisonrafah.org. Madison, WI, U.S.
January 27, 5:30pm. Biblioteca Amilcar Cabral. Bologna, Italy.
January 27, 6:30-8pm. The Book Tavern, 936 Broad St, Ste 101. Sponsored by CSRA Peace Alliance. Augusta, GA, U.S.
TBD, Berkeley, CA, U.S.
TBD, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
TBD, Seattle, WA, U.S.
TBD, Ramallah, Palestine. Al Mawared Library.
TBD, Cloverdale, CA, U.S. Cloverdale Regional Library.
TBD, Ramallah, Palestine. Sponsored by IBBY Palestine and the Tamer Institute for Community Education.
TBD, Tel Aviv, Israel. Sponsored by All That’s Left.
TBD, Manchester, UK.
TBD, Paris, France.
TBD, Philadelphia, PA. Sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace – Philadelphia.

If you are planning an event, please let the LAP know.