2nd Official Sistas With Stories Book Club Meeting!

Hostess: Wanda George

Book Choice for February 2006: My Soul To Keep by Tananarive Due



From Kirkus Reviews- Top-flight soft-horror novel by Miami-based columnist Due (The Between, 1995). Some 500 years ago, young Dawit of Lalibela, in Abyssinia, was inducted into the 52-member group called The Immortals by the master Khaldun, who had drunk the blood of Christ. Still looking 30, Dawit (now known as David) lives in Miami, his Khaldun-transfused blood so filled with T-cells that no disease or injury can kill him. He is, for all practical purposes, immortal. He's had many careers. He's also had many lovers, wives, and children, and watched age overtake them while he remained young. Today, his daughter Rosalie, from a liaison in New Orleans in the 1920s, lies infirm in a Chicago nursing home. David stops off to administer euthanasia. Then he returns to Jessica, his wife of six years, a Miami reporter who's just started research on a book about disgraceful conditions in nursing homes. The Immortals think themselves above humans, so when David feels threatened by Jessica's research he kills her fellow researcher, Peter. Although he's killed before to protect his identity, his love of Jessica makes him feel, for the first time, guilty for what he's done. David realizes that he doesn't, for once, want to outlive and, to protect his secret, abandon his human family. Will Jessica discover that her husband's immortal? Will he give his blood to her and their five-year-old daughter, Kira, so that they can always be with him? Suspense tightens neatly with modest melodrama but with a big sense of family life. Due is careful to portray David as both hero (he's charming and talented, polylingual, and a published author) and threat. He is, essentially, an alien trying to mimic a life that can never really be his. A sequel seems likely, though it may be hard to keep up the gripping originality here. ($65,000 ad/promo; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Food: Salad, Veggies, Fruits, Garlic Bread, and Lasagna


The event began at the George household at 6:00pm. We met together in the kitchen, following the delicious smell of lasagna and garlic bread. The spread was definitely impressive.

Choosing to stay in the kitchen, we began to discuss this month's book. It was general consesus that this book was a refreshingly different read for most of us. Although it may not have been the typical book choice for most of the group, we all loved the read.


Some of SWS' favorite moments in the book:(WARNING! If you have not read this book, the following comments are spoilers, so do not read on if you do not want to know key points of the story.)* David attempting to perform the ritual on Jessica and Kira.* The original description of Khaldun performing the ritual on the 52 followers.* The sensual romance scenes between David and Jessica.* Mahmoud's graphic beating and disposal of his body. * The Searchers coming to Mahmoud's aid and telling him to return to Ethiopia.* Alex being thrown off her balcony.* Jessica waking up to find her dead cat staring her in the face.
We also discussed who should play the main characters in the story if the book was made into a movie. For Jessica, Nia Long would be our favorite pick. Blair Underwood was mentioned as a possible actor to play David (Dawit). Dela Reese, Lynne Whitfield, and Jackee' were suggested to play Jessica's mother, Bea. Vanessa Williams of Soul Food was our pick for Alex. This was definitely a book that kept us talking, laughing, and pondering during our meeting. Would any of us choose immortality if given the chance? We weren't sure. Could we watch our loved ones die around us? Would we be able to set ourselves apart and seperate ourselves from the world? Also, why did Peter keep his love life so secret from his good friend, Jessica? We spoke about people in our own lives who did the same thing. A couple of us decided we didn't like Jessica very much, and that she made a lot of stupid decisions during the book. We also didn't understand why David wasn't more careful about revealing his secrets when he knew that Mahmoud was watching them. Our next meeting will be hosted in April by Mrs. Naiomi Pitre -the book is her own first publication, Broken Vows. Due to our treasurer not being able to attend this meeting, dues were not collected. No word was given on our dayspa plans at this time.