Jews and Muslims lived together in peace but perhaps not total harmony, since there were disagreements between them for which the Muslims always had the upper hand. They lived by their rules and owed their lives to their good graces. Orphaned Jewish children were taken into the Muslim community, by the Confiscator. Relatives had to prove they were financially able to care for the orphan, and most of the time they were too poor to satisfy the regulations. The cloud of confiscation hung over Adela Damari because her father, a fine shoemaker, was in very poor health. If her father died, she could be spirited away from her world, by the Confiscator, and forced to live and work in his.
We traveled with Adela from Quaraah to Aden and finally on to Palestine and then Israel, meeting members of her family along the way. When she was nine, and her cousin Asaf was only a year or so older, they were pledged to each other, to prevent her confiscation. Both of them seemed older than their young years. Hani, Adela’s friend and cousin, also appeared too wise for her age, and all three of them seemed too promiscuous for the times. Binyamin, another friend of Adela’s, seemed quieter and more reserved. Except for Adela’s mom, Sulamita, most of the women seemed relaxed and gay, more open minded, in some ways, even in their remarks. She on the other hand was strict and rigid, often cruel in her punishments. Adela, therefore, relied on several of her aunts for warmth and understanding. My favorite character was Binyamin who remained true to himself throughout and my least was Asaf who was more of a chameleon, fitting himself into the moment.
The Yemeni Jews seemed to live in the past, in a time warp, with their traditions, their religion and their superstitions. Many were illiterate. Girls, especially, received no education. Some Jews who succeeded were portrayed as ruthless and/or deceptive and devious. Others were depicted as kind, simple folk. The Muslims were portrayed largely as brutal and barbaric, killing and maiming simply for the sake of revenge, just and unjust. The Jews suffered many hardships but seemed to find joy in simple pleasures like Henna painting, cloth dyeing and preparing meals. The men, also, took pride in the work they performed to support their families. Eventually, though, world events forced many to leave their homes and travel to distant places.
Sometimes, the book seemed too simplistic and/or contrived. I found the scenes depicting little children consumed with ideas of sex, inappropriate and most unrealistic. Their world was a backward one, so I had trouble conceiving of their secret meetings or of their physical desire developing as it did. I also did not think it was necessary for the author to provide Sulamita with a lesbian experience in order to explain away her changes of mind. It seemed like the book was suddenly pandering to today’s liberal values by pointing out her unjust ostracism. As a witness to the experience, Aunt Rahel used the threat of exposure, in order to get her way.
Although I found it to be a slow read, at first, in the last 75 pages, the story suddenly came to life with the influence of The Holocaust and the British Partition of the Holy Land in 1947, which caused the Arabs to go on a rampage raining down destruction and death on Jews wherever they found them. As it moved forward in time, I grew more engaged with the story. I thought the story got bogged down in the trials and triumphs of day to day life, rather than in the big picture world, of Jewry, and so it became less of an historic narrative and more of a fairy tale. The introduction of a certain amount of mysticism or magic, trending into the supernatural, with prescient dreams and Henna designs that came to life, stretched my imagination a little, but it did add some charm to the story. This book relates how some survived. It is a story of violence and betrayal, loyalty and infidelity, all wrapped up in the pages of a love story.
Still, I learned many things from reading the book. I learned about the custom of henna painting, and that was really interesting. I was surprised to find so many parallels between the ways the Muslims and the Jews treated their women and the way in which both ethnic groups dressed. Both adhered to strict codes of attire. I noted that the male progeny seemed arrogant while the women were expected to be totally subservient and were not only purchased as chattel, they were treated as such. I also learned about the Confiscator who watched the community carefully to discover the next Jewish orphan in order to appropriate and immerse the child into the Muslim world. An exceptional lesson for me was learning about The Magic Carpet which was an effort to rescue the Yemeni Jews fleeing from the Arabs who were attacking them, robbing, beating and murdering them, for no reason other than they seemed to want to and that they were there. Previously, I had only known about the rescue of the Ethiopian Jews, who were also forced to flee their country.

A little slow getting started, this historical fiction turns into a page turner. The history of henna, the superstitions surrounding it and the meanings of the henna images make this book worth reading. Add to that the previously unknown life of Yeminite Jews at the turn of the last century. I can easily recommend this book.

Great story revolving around the use of henna by the women of the Jewish community in Yemen. Cultural information and some history also as it tells of the evacuation of the Jews of Yemen. Also a love story.

VERY beautifully written. Words that paint a picture and inform historically accurate at the same time. Could NOT put this book down. It just spoke to me and I will read it again.

This novel starts with a discussion of the main character’s eyes. “What is wrong with the girl’s eyes?”…”But they are too big for her face.”…”Eyes like that see either too much of the world or too little of it.” Throughout the novel, the main character, Adela sees both too much and too little of the world. She is simultaneously naïve and wise, traditional and modern, dutiful and questioning, scared and adventurous. Adela is a strong, well-developed, female character and Henna House is her coming of age story. On so many levels, her life is filled with love, loss, betrayal, and forgiveness. The novel is a first person narration of her early life, as well as a love story to her cousins, Hani and Asaf. As Adela describes, it is a love story written in henna.

The relatively unfamiliar time and place in history in which this novel is set intrigued me. I knew little about the Yemenite Jewish community of the early to mid twentieth century. Nomi Eve’s novel is meticulously researched and her writing is evocative, beautiful, and lyrical. I was truly transported to a different time and place. I savored her descriptions of the landscapes, customs, and people. During the first half of the novel, Adela, her family, and fellow Jewish villagers all follow the older, more biblical, traditions and dress. She lives with her extended family and gives meaning to the expression, “it takes a village”. For me, this time period and aspect was very reminiscent of Anita Diamant’s book, The Red Tent. I did not know what a gargush or a traditional Yemenite bridal cone was. Eve’s writing is rich, full of texture, and many layers. It brought this time period and customs to life for me. It is not until that last third of the book that Adela gets acquainted with the modern world.

The details about the making of henna, the ritual ceremonies associated with it, and the mysticism surrounding are articulately detailed throughout the book. Henna is used throughout the novel as a metaphor for storytelling and a way of communicating. Blessings for the future, records of the past, and even coded messages are recorded via henna in this novel. Adela is extremely interested in all modes of communication and expression. She learns the art of henna from her cousin and her aunt. She then goes on to use it extend this a way of teaching other females to read and communicate. The traditional rituals and interactions surrounding henna are well developed and detailed in the story. They help to bring the other strong female characters in Adela’s family to life.

When I started reading this book, I had a different expectation of how this story would unfold and what it would cover. I thought it would be about Adela’s entire life, be more fast-paced, and include more action/adventure. However, the first two-thirds of the book cover Adela’s life from age five to sixteen. The remaining third quickly covers the highlights of the rest of her life. This threw me and made me wonder if I really liked the book as I was reading it. However, once I was aware of the real focus of the book and recalibrated my expectations, I did truly enjoy the book for what it is. The pace of the book and its tone reminded me of when I read Willa Cather’s My Antonia. It is should be read slowly and pleasure should be taken in the descriptive sentences and imagery presented. While there are some life-changing events and an airlift rescue to Israel, which occur in the novel, it is not an action/adventure story. Knowing that and accepting that going in would have made the book a more enjoyable read for me. In fact, it might even warrant a reread with this in mind.