This is a story about the power of music, first, but also about freedom and conflict, determination and vision. Children of the Stone chronicles Ramzi's journey-from stone thrower to music student to school founder-and shows how through his love of music he created something lasting and beautiful in a land torn by violence and war. Since then the two have played together frequently. Daniel Barenboim, the eminent Israeli conductor, invited Ramzi to join his West Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he founded with the late Palestinian intellectual, Edward Said. An aspiring British opera singer moved to the West Bank to teach voice lessons. A violist left the London Symphony Orchestra, in part to work with Ramzi at his new school, Al Kamandjati. Musicians from all over the world came to help. The dream: a school to transform the lives of thousands of children-as Ramzi's life was transformed-through music. We're excited to welcome journalist, USC professor, and author of The Lemon Tree, Sandy Tolan, who will discuss his latest book, Children of Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land, the touching story of Ramzi Hussein Aburedwan, a child from a Palestinian refugee camp, who confronts an occupying army, gets an education, masters an instrument, dreams of something much bigger than himself, and then, through his charisma and persistence, inspires scores of others to work with him to make that dream real. Sandy Tolan on the Palestinian Who Founded a Music School, Monday, May 11, 7 pm, at Boswell. Due to no small amount of begging, Jim Shepard is coming to Boswell on Thursday, June 18, 7 pm, co-sponsored by the Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies. For those who feel they've read enough about the Holocaust, let them just try to get through The Book of Aron without the shell around their heart cracking.

The story itself is apparently inspired by a real-life beloved Polish-Jewish educator and child advocate who refused to abandon the charges in his orphanage. Sometimes it's almost funny, but underlying the humor is always heartbreak.

Shepard's novel is both plain-spoken and poetic, documenting not just the big tragedies, but the mean-spirited pettiness that the Jews faced. Their son Aron, however, is one scrappy boy and is able to avoid any number of gruesome ends. Daniel Goldin is also very enthusiastic: ' When one family is moved from the Polish countryside into the city of Warsaw, they have no idea of the fate that awaits them and Poland's Jewish population as Hitler rises to power. Cheers to Dan Pope!'Ĭarly Lenz, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WisconsinĪnd finally, keep your eye on The Book of Aron, by Jim Shepard, which has already garnered an amazing advance review in The Washington Post from Ron Charles. I laughed, I cried, and I felt hauntingly represented by the individuals in this story. Filled with tragic characters who struggle and triumph like actual people do, Housebreaking offers a snapshot into the worlds of two families that are both experiencing the minutiae of everyday life, the infrequent bursts of passion that people read about, and the pathos of finding one's identity. Her take: 'I haven't felt this emotionally arrested by a depiction of suburban Connecticut since Rick Moody's classic The Ice Storm. On their way, Franklin finally learns the answers to questions many take for granted, including 'Who is my mother?' A reader will reflect on the content of his or her own stories - and how long those stories will affect others beyond his or her life.'įrom Carly Lenz, born and raised in The Nutmeg State, comes an enthusiastic recommendation of Housebreaking, by Dan Pope.

In this narrative reminiscent of Paul Harding's Tinkers, Franklin agrees to walk his dying biological father, Eldon, into the wilderness and bury him. Soon, though, death means stories are all that's left of others. He writes: ' To borrow a phrase from Wagamese, people become envelopes. Knowledge of others stacks up as correspondence and hearsay, at first from a verifiable distance - a father is away at war, another father is drunk elsewhere, and on. Nagel's recommendation was chosen as the official one for the J une Indie Next List (congratulations), so we'll share Todd's here.

Both Boswellians Todd Wellman and Sharon Nagel are fans of Medicine Walk, the new novel by Richard Wagamese. So much to tell you! But first, here are three great new books you'll want to know about.

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