Wonderful evening at Erin’s – the consensus was that it was a challenging read and the evening was highlighted by a delicious (and time consuming) authentic Ethiopian meal prepared by Erin.
We also agreed, that as so often happens, we enjoyed the book more after the discussion.
From Karen:
Thanks Erin for putting a great deal of effort in recreating the unique and delicious Ethiopian cuisine mentioned in A Wife’s Tale. It was well worth the trouble and was a hit with the group as evidenced by all the second helpings. By the way, should anyone be curious, it seems we have a good Ethiopian restaurant in Hamilton (https://www.wassethiopianrestaurant.com/). After trying last night’s meal, I am keen to give the restaurant a visit. Please provide the links to your recipes on our blog.
I found “A Wife’s Tale” a difficult read and would have preferred to have the glossary expanded and moved (along with the timeline) to the front of the book. That said, Yetemegnu’s life was inspiring. Imagine a little girl, married at 8, unable to read, living a cloistered life with a husband who was 22 years older and forced to cope mostly alone, with Ethiopia’s turbulent political upheavals. And yet she lived to see her grandchildren become educated professionals residing in different countries throughout the world!
From Bev: Karen raised some good points but may I add that reading a woman’s story set in another time and culture makes me thankful for the rights and freedoms I have in Canada. It also reminds me that women are always vulnerable and in times of adversity need to draw on their inner strengths to survive and in this case provide a better life for their children.
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