Shifra Horn - Book Clubs

In the tradition of Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits and Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, Shifra Horn's beautifully imagined and lavishly told debut novel tells the story of four generations of women in one family against the background of 100 years in Jerusalem.

The story begins at the end, with Amal, the fourth generation, whose husband deserted her after the birth of their first-born son. Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother are overjoyed because the birth of a healthy boy means that the curse against the women of heir family has been broken: there is no daughter to inherit it. "Come, listen," they say to Amal, "listen to the story of the family's 'four mothers' and the story of the curse that foreshadowed each father's disappearance. Be comforted by your foremothers in blood and in spirit."

There is Mazal, the orphan, whose ill-fated marriage initiates the curse; her daughter Sara, the most beautiful girl in the village whose golden hair becomes a symbol for her mysterious ability to heal; Sara's daughter Pnina-Mazal, the unwanted child whose talent for knowing others' thoughts brings her both joy and sorrow; and her daughter Geula, Amal's mother, whose razor-sharp intellect and idealism is both her gift and her cross to bear.

Epic in scope, mysterious, rich in the magical realism of fable and the folklore of legend, Four Mothers is a masterpiece of storytelling to be cherished.
Discussion Questions:

• Do you believe in the curse Dvora describes?
• What does the author achieve in the narrative through the use of magical realism? What is the difference between magic and superstition for the villagers? Is it an actual difference or a perceived difference?
• What does the ritual of visiting the mikveh symbolize, both for the neighborhood women and within the context of the narrative?
• Horn makes extensive use of natural and physical phenomenon, as symbols of life and death and as portents of good and evil. What symbols are most effective and what are their meanings? How does the author use things like women's hair and physical features, plants and flowers, animals and bugs?
• What are the tokens of affection in the novel, both romantic and between generations?
• What is the changing nature of the institution of marriage in the novel? What about the notion of true love?
• How does the novel characterize motherhood and the relationship between mothers and daughters in the book? How is it different from fatherhood and the relationships between fathers and sons or mothers and sons? How do the relationships change from generation to generation?
• How does each woman rely on or get misled by the artifacts of her ancestors? Consider actual items that are handed down, such as photographs and other objects, but also the oral tradition passed on by each woman to her daughter.
• What role does the nature of communication and language play in the novel?
• How important is religion in the lives of this family? Cultural tradition? National identity?

Shifra Horn, in her own words: On where her stories come from:

Over one hundred and fifty years ago Sarah, the second mother and main character, was born in Jerusalem. It is said of her that she was the hand- somest woman in Jerusalem and some even claim the handsomest woman in the country, perhaps even in the entire world. She was also well known as a healer. It was said that the rose water she distilled could alleviate the pain of both body and soul.

I do not know if there ever was such a woman as Sarah, a woman who was both a beauty and a healer, but many of my readers believe that such a woman indeed lived In the city many years ago. After the book reached the stores I received many requests from barren women who asked me to describe In full detail the directions to Sarah's grave so they could receive her blessing.

But even if I try and provide precise directions, I do not believe the grave can be found. It does not exist, just as Jerusalem-born Grandmother Sarah is a figment of my imagination.

On her inspiration:

It could be said that my richest source of inspiration Is the city of Jerusalem, because It is a city to which one cannot remain indifferent. You may love it or hate it, but you cannot remain indifferent. It is a city in which imagination and reality intertwine and intermingle, a city where one can never know where reality begins or imagination continues. Surely life here is like life in an unreal bubble in which everything and anything can happen in a medley of events, part of which are recorded in history books and many others related to us as fairytales.

This illusory city is a city of hard rocks, steaming passions, Lilliths and evil spirits, superstitions and false prophets, bearded Yeshiva students and primal beauties. All these, with the addition of historical events, unique places, streets and houses, have become an inseparable part of my life and permeated Four Mothers.