HENNA HOUSE

This is an evocative coming-of-age story about a young woman in the fascinating and rarely portrayed community of Yemenite Jews of the mid-20th century author.

Award-winning author Nomi Eve’s vivid saga begins in Yemen in 1920, when Adela Damari’s parents desperately seek a future husband for their young daughter. After passage of the Orphan’s Decree, any unbetrothed Jewish child left orphaned will be immediately adopted by the local Muslim community. With her parents’ health failing, and no spousal prospects in sight, Adela’s situation looks dire until her uncle arrives from a faraway city, bringing with him a cousin and aunt who introduce Adela to the mysterious and powerful riutals of Henna. Suddenly, Adela’s eyes are opened to the world—she begins to understand what it means to love another and one’s heritage.
Adela’s life is imperiled, however, when her parents die and a prolonged drought threatens their long-established way of life. She and her extended family flee to Aden where Adela encounters old loves, discovers her true calling, and is ultimately betrayed by the people and traditions she always thought were most meaningful in her life.

At once an unforgettable coming-of-age story and a larger depiction of the now extinct community of Yemenite Jews, Henna is a rich, spirited, and evocative tale of love, loss, betrayal, redemption, and the dyes that adorn the skin but pierce the heart.

Nomi Eve is the author of The Family Orchard, which was a Book of the Month Club main selection and was nominated for a National Jewish Book Award. She has an MFA in fiction writing from Brown University and has worked as a freelance book reviewer for The Village Voice and New York Newsday. Her stories have appeared in Glimmer Train Stories, Voice Literary Supplement, and The International Quarterly. She lives in Philadelphia, PA with her family.