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Book Club - Feature
Book Club - Feature
storm and then used a beat-up canoe to rescue his neighbors and deliver fresh water before being unjustly arrested. The book also won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Both books deal with the after-effects of the most damaging storm to touch down on American soil, though they come at it from very different angles. Ninth Ward is steeped in mysticism, with Mama Ya-Ya passing down griot traditions to Lanesha, and the grandmothers dreams foretelling the damage of Katrina. Zeitoun, on the other hand, documents the numerous bureaucratic failures in the storms aftermath, and what
Ninth Ward does with lush imagery Zeitoun accomplishes with grittier detail. And yet, theres a commonality between the two books, that, when read together, illuminate them in unforeseen ways. In one powerful scene in Ninth Ward, Lanesha has to use her formidable math skills to calculate how long it will take for the water to envelop her front steps; likewise, its Zeitouns ingenuity that allows him to help his surrounding community. While the failure of the government to properly intercede during the hurricane should be and is the enduring image of the tragedy, its easy to forget that individuals put the city on their
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MODELS: LEFT, TIM GILES; RIGHT, VON WILKS/LILYS TALENT; STYLING: MELISSA ELIAS
Time Out Chicago Kids Summer Book Club isnt like traditional book clubs. We chose two titlesone for grown-ups and one for kidswith corresponding themes to give families an opportunity to talk about what theyve read, and hopefully much more. To get things started, weve created an online discussion boardwith discussion questionsat timeoutchicagokids.com, where readers of both titles can weigh in. Check there to win a signed a copy of Ninth Ward, and get details about our rst-ever TOC Kids Summer Book Club meet-up.