Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet by Jaime Ford

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Set in Seattle, this is the story of a friendship between Henry, a Chinese boy, and Keiko, a Japanese girl, just as the Second World War breaks out. The story switches between that time and 1986, when the Hotel Panama is opened up and the belongings of Japanese families are rediscovered. They stored their valuables just before being interned, but many didn't come back for them.

Henry remembers his friendship for Keiko while searching the hotel for any physical momentos, and flashes back to the story of their growing friendship in an environment where the Japanese were the enemy. It is both a narrative of those times and a delightful story of human nature and emotion.

Personally I started the book on a plane on my way to my first ever visit to Seattle. I knew it was coming up to read for book club, so I saved it for that moment. Reading the book in Seattle and visiting the city at the same time led me to understand a little about the culture of that city. The book describes the jazz scene of the 1940s and the ethnic communities of the time really well.

This book led to one of the best discussions I have had in a book club. Not just the story of Henry and Keiko, but the whole dilemma of different races in the United States, and whether the decision to lock away those of Japanese descent was a good one or not. This is the best type of book for a book club, a great story that leads to an active discussion.

Book Club Questions for The Sacred Thread by Adrienne Arieff

Here is my review of this book

The Sacred Thread by Adrienne Arieff

When looking for book club questions for this book, I couldn't find any, so I wrote my own, so here they are:

1. Did you enjoy the book, The Sacred Thread?

2. What would you have done if you couldn’t carry a baby to term?

3. Do you know anyone who has used a surrogate, or been a surrogate?

4. Do you know anyone who has had IVF?

5. What were the risks in Adrienne having her baby in India?

6. How do you think Vaina felt about the whole transaction?

7. The book is a successful story with a happy ending. What could have gone wrong with her plan?

8. Given that the cost of a surrogate in the US is about $100,000 and the cost of a surrogate in India is about $50,000, is the fact that American women are using Indians to help them achieve a family helping or abusing Indian women?

9. What is the Sacred Thread?

10. In what way were the parents prepared/not prepared for parenthood?

11. Would you ever have a baby for someone else, either paid or unpaid?

12. What is the limit of what you would do to provide for your own children?

13. Why do many women think they have a right to have a child?

14. Has the book changed your views on IVF or surrogacy?

15. How much did the book sell the idea of International surrogacy for others in the future?

16. Did you cry at any point when you were reading the book, which part?

17. Overall, how much did you enjoy the book?

The Sacred Thread by Adrienne Arieff

The Sacred Thread: A True Story of Becoming a Mother and Finding a Family--Half a World Away

As someone who has not struggled with infertility, the thought of adoption, IVF and surrogacy doesn't even occur to me. So I was very pleased to be educated about it by reading Adrienne Arieff's journey of miscarriages, infertility, and eventual surrogacy with a donor in India. It is a world I would not have known anything about had it not been for this book.

The book is short and easy to read, I myself read it in two days. I didn't read the details of whether or not she was successful before starting the book, so I was very keen to reach the end and thus I read it fairly quickly.

When we discussed it as a group we wanted to know more details like, "How did she get from the three miscarriages to the idea of surrogacy?" Generally though, we would have liked more details of many things that were only briefly mentioned in the book. The author said that it started as a journal for her daughters to read, but the book did read more like a journal than a book.

As a book club group, we had a great discussion about IVF, surrogacy and the desire to be a mother. The book definitely gave us a lot to talk about.