The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman- The daughter of Jewish refugees, Rachel Pomie grows up on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, but dreams of traveling to Paris, the home of her ancestors. Instead, her father arranges for her to marry Isaac, a local widower with three children. When the much-older Isaac dies, his nephew Frederic arrives to settle the estate. Despite community disapproval, Rachel and Frederic fall in love. Inspired by the life of the woman who would become the mother of Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, this novel offers a lush, lyrical depiction of 19th-century Jewish life in the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands). — Description by Gillian Speace from NoveList.
The Brentwood Book Club meets on the second Tuesday of the month. Ask for a copy of next month’s selection at the desk. Newcomers are always welcome and no registration is required.