Having read The Mermaid Chair and The Secret Life of Bees, both by
Sue Monk Kidd, I was excited when this was chosen as one of our
book club selections. That was in November. I just finished reading
the book now. What does that tell you?
Traveling with Pomegranates should have been a better book than it
actually is. This is a mother(Sue)/daughter(Ann) memoir about
travel, faith, love, creativity and writing. At the beginning, as I
settled in, I thought that it was going to be quite compelling. I
felt a kinship with Sue:
"I didn't understand why I was responding to the prospect of aging
with such shallowness and dread, only that there had to be more to
it than the etchings on my skin" (4).
In Sue's capable hands, this journey is - if not always engaging -
at least well written and thoughtful. Sadly, I can't say the same
for Ann's part. I found her whiney and entitled. I never warmed up
to her.
Mother and daughter visit Greece together in 1998. Ann is 22 and
Sue mourns the loss of the little girl she was. She is also acutely
aware that something troubling is going on with her daughter. At
first glance it might seem that Ann's disappointment has to do with
the fact that she didn't get into graduate school, but as the
mother/daughter writers unspool the story it turns out that they
are both looking for something more complicated. And they spend the
rest of the book kneeling at the feet of Madonnas (and other
powerful female icons) in Greece and Crete and France…trying to
find it.
Ultimately, it turns out that graduate school was never what Ann
truly wanted; she wants to be a writer. And how wonderful for her
that her mother is and that they could do this book together.
Lesa's Book Critiques
Washington Examiner Review
Although the women in my book club were wishy-washy about the book,
we unanimously LOVED this Pomegranate Salsa. It's delicious!
Pomegranate Salsa
seeds of 1 pomegranate
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 bunch parsley (equal to cilantro)
1/2 sprig mint
1 small red onion
2t lime zest
2 T lime juice
2 t oil
1 jalapeno pepper
salt/pepper to taste
I use the seeds of 2 pomegranates and adjust the quantities of
everything else to taste. This keeps well; I made a big batch for
Christmas Eve and I am still eating it.