Henna House

By: Nomi Eve

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Yemen in 1920: After passage of the Orphan's Decree, any unbetrothed Jewish child left orphaned will be instantly adopted by the local Muslim community. With her parents' health failing, and no spousal prospects in sight, Adela Damari's situation looks dire until her uncle arrives from a faraway city, bringing with him a cousin and aunt who introduce Adela to the powerful rituals of henna tattooing. Suddenly, Adela's eyes are opened to the world, and she begins to understand what it means to love another and one's heritage. She 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 the city of Aden where Adela encounters old loves, discovers her true calling, and is ultimately betrayed by the people and customs she once held dear.

©2014 Nomi Eve (P)2014 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"...the novel is a welcome glimpse into this historical moment and little-known culture. (Booklist)

"A captivating and evocative novel, at once intensely intimate and sweeping in scope. Nomi Eve is a wonderful writer - compassionate, intelligent, assured - and her deeply felt, richly imagined book will stay with me for a long time." (Molly Antopol, author of The UnAmericans)

"This was a book I had to read twice: the first time to rush through quickly to find out what will ultimately happen to the characters, and the second time to slowly savor the descriptions of these marvelous, exotic people and locales. Nomi Eve captivated me." (Maggie Anton, author of Rashi's Daughters and Rav Hisda's Daughter)

Amazing story

I have listened to this book several times. It is enchanting, inspiring, and enthralling all at once.

A story of henna, love and war.

Such a compelling, unpredictable drama involving regions rarely mentioned in the world of fine literature. I leave you with a sad but enriched heart having listened to the final sentences of the remarkable novel.

Terrific saga

Compelling story takes reader to a different world peopled with fascinating characters. Not for the prissy or faint of heart but a rewarding tale.

Interesting but not great.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It took me a while to get through this book. I read & listened to several other books while working on this one. I would get bored and so go to another but then come back to see what happened to certain characters.

Would you recommend Henna House to your friends? Why or why not?

Best thing about this book was the information about Yemenite Jewish culture. I really didn't know much about this interesting culture/sect of Jews. It was very interesting to learn about their ways and about henna. For that reason I would recommend the book - but the plot & characters are not fascinating or entrancing. But I did finish the book and was satisfied with how it all wrapped up.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Narrator was okay.

Fantastic story

I loved this story and the narrator did a marvelous job. I found the descriptions of the locations and people so well written.

Read this one- skip audible

OK story. Unfortunately, others of this genre are superior. Interesting Yemen historical perspective.
Slow start. Narrator speaks so slowly you have to go to 1.25 or you might fall asleep. At that speed, she's good.

great listen!

I loved the story, the narration made me feel like I was apart of the story.

Fabulous Book!!

Couldn’t put it down. Amazing story intertwined by history and culture. Great insight to a culture.

Eye opening insight into the recent history of Jews in Yemen

Good story, realistic, upbeat ending ( in hard times, a happy ending is a nice change); good narration
Very interesting background on Jews in Yemen, thebindia link, and migration to Israel

Hannah House - good book, good performance, important story

I enjoyed listening to Henna House. I knew nothing about the story of Yemeni Jews, their daily life In the early 20th century and the political climate that resulted in their traveling to Israel after the war. The story was intriguing in large part because I am so unfamiliar with the history and customs of Yemeni Jews. By the time I was 2/3 done I was so intrigued by the art of Henna I imagined my legs and arms being adorned, and I may in fact get my first tenant application to Summer. The fact that Henna was a strictly female culture was also intriguing. Although things seem to wrap up too quickly at the end, I enjoyed every chapter and the excellent recording. I would recommend this book highly.