What an amazing event we had for our February book club gathering. Dennis Murphy, the book’s author attended, along with his wife Deborah Sullivan. As if that wasn’t enough, Dennis provided an incredible lunch for all of us who were able to attend (Joanie, Linda, Annie, Zanna, Maddy, Libby, Margie, Sheri, Elise -friend of Margie- and Mary Lib via Skype). He also had provided us each with a handout that included an introduction of himself, book discussion questions, and the allegory of the book.
Dennis began our discussion of the book by asking us to each relate our impressions of the book. As we went around the room, one at a time, sharing our reactions and thoughts Dennis interjected questions and provided information and explanation regarding his process for developing the novel. It seemed that all of us were taken with the story feeling it was suspenseful and interesting and that it moved along well. There was some conversation regarding the vocabulary included within the book – those of us who used a Kindle were happy to have the dictionary feature!
Some remarked about how masterfully Dennis described the desert and the sand storm as well as how he so aptly set the stage for what was coming with incredibly sparse language. A comment was made and everyone readily agreed that this book humanized Arab women for the reader.
Parts of our discussion centered on the various characters, whether they were likable, their influential strength, and how they changed throughout the course of the book.
There was a good bit of time spent on the pros and cons of not including scenes of a sexual nature in the story. There also was conversation centering around the parts/scenes that seemed believable, and those that may have seemed “over the top.” It did astonish us to learn the real story that was the basis for A Thousand Veils, as well as specific scenes that were surprisingly valid and had been based on Dennis’s work with clients who had been refugees for political asylum.
It was so insightful and interesting to listen as Dennis described the writing and editing process he went through to bring this book to fruition. It was truly a special event and once that will be remembered for a long time.
