Sylvan Library Adult Books Group

The Sylvan Oaks Adult Book Group meets on the second Saturday of each month for conversation about a wide range of authors, subjects, and perspectives. October’s selection is Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie.

The novel follows Noriko “Nori” Kamiza, a biracial girl growing up in postwar Japan after being abandoned by her mother and sent to live with her wealthy grandparents. Because her father was an African American serviceman, Nori is treated as an embarrassment to the family and kept largely hidden from the outside world.

Nori’s isolated life begins to change when she forms a bond with her older half-brother, Akira. Their relationship gives her a glimpse of a life beyond the rigid expectations and prejudice surrounding her, setting in motion a story about family, identity, belonging, freedom, and the cost of challenging tradition.

The November discussion takes place in the Sylvan Oaks Meeting Room as part of the library’s monthly adult book group. Readers can expect a conversation that reaches across the novel’s postwar Japanese setting into its treatment of race, family loyalty, social expectations, resilience, and personal independence.