STRANGERS WITH THE SAME DREAM

BY ALISON PICK

This beautifully written novel transports us back to 1921, when a band of young Jewish pioneers set out to realize a dream: the founding of a settlement on a patch of land that would eventually become Israel.

 

One by one, we enter the minds of three compelling characters – Ida, an idealistic young woman escaping the violence in Europe; David, the charismatic and volatile group leader; and Hannah, a wife and mother struggling with her roles. Through these main voices, we witness how the utopian dream is punctured by flawed characters and messy human entanglements.

 

Strangers with the Same Dream is also the story of the land itself, revealing with irony and compassion how the settlers chose to ignore the fact that the homeland they sought was home to people whose lives they did not understand.

 

 

Screening followed by Q&A with special guest Raja G. Khouri.

 

 

Free tickets will be available starting August 1.

Stop by the Aurora Farmers' Market to purchase an OBOA inspired recipe prepared by Jan's Country Pantry.

 

Alison Pick’s opening line to Strangers with the Same Dream sets the stage for a journey into the magic of storytelling. Borrowing Alison’s opening for your own story, we invite you to submit your writing to the OBOA 2018 writing contest.

 

Your first line is: This story begins with a lie.

 

Winners to be announced at APL’s Ontario Public Library Week Open House on Monday October 15, and via email or phone. 

 

 

In this writing workshop, unearth a ghost of your former self, an ancestor, family member, lover, stranger, or an imagined character. Using writing prompts and meditation techniques unravel the plot that leads to the ghost’s departure.

 

Workshop Facilitator: Marnie Maguire

Marnie’s writing is part magic realism/part poetic grunge. She has combined her experience as a writer with her doctoral research on social change, memory & the creative process to provide truly meaningful workshops for a broad spectrum of aspiring authors. 

 

Just like the settlers in Strangers With the Same Dream, landscape photographers oftentimes use their environment as a basis for creating images that don’t simply document the environment but also reflect the photographer’s personal vision.

In this workshop we will look at things such as light, composition, depth of field, image processing and other photographic basics that will allow you to move beyond a simple literal representation of the environment and instead create fine art photographs that represent your vision of the world.

 

Folk dancing is about family and friends of all ages dancing together. Join folk dance teacher, Riki Adivi, for a vibrant Culture Days workshop and learn some easy dances and a little about other cultures.

 

In celebration of OneBookOneAurora, Riki will be including folk dancing from Israeli and Arabic cultures.

 

Family friendly!  Wear comfortable shoes and be ready to have fun!

Meet your local Amnesty International members (Newmarket/Aurora Chapter) for a drop-in letter-writing session and discover how the act of sending a simple postcard can free a political prisoner.

 

Is it possible to build a community based on the socialist ideal of
equality and communal living? Join us for a discussion led by Ronen Grunberg on the philosophical ideas of Marx, Plato and Sartre and how they relate to Strangers with the Same Dream. We will pay particular attention to the questions that they each raise about whether human nature is innate and determined, or instead shaped by nurture, culture and geography.

 

Join us for the grand finale of the 2018 OneBookOneAurora project.
Meet Alison Pick and enjoy a fascinating glimpse into the story behind the story.

Unfortunately the release of the paperback edition has been pushed back to March 2019. This means we are unable to put out our free lending libraries.

 

Instead, this year we will have additional hardcover copies 

of Strangers with the Same Dream available for loan at Aurora Public Library. 

 

We hope you enjoy the book and look forward to seeing you at the events.

 

 

• The novel is told through three perspectives narrating the same events through each character’s eyes. Was this literary technique successful to the flow of the storyline?
  

• Strangers with the Same Dream has been described as a feminist novel. Did the author ring true in her exploration of subjects such as marriage and motherhood?
  

• Each of the central characters might be described as flawed, perhaps no one more so than the charismatic David. Did you hold much sympathy for him? Do you think charisma a requisite for leadership?
  

• In interviews, Alison Pick acknowledges that the story of the Palestinian characters was not her own to tell, but that she couldn’t write this novel without including their viewpoints. At every turn, the Arab population peers in from the fringes. Was the author successful in drawing the characters of little Sakina, stoic Fatima and noble Habib?

•  The kibbutz movement (and other social utopias) espoused gender equality. Do you think any society has been successful in attaining equality between the sexes? Do you think this is even possible or desirable?
  

• The land itself might well be described as a tragic character in this book, revealing the terrible irony of how the settlers chose to ignore the undeniable fact that the land was already populated by the Arab people. How were you able to balance your sympathies given the time period the novel was set in and how history continues to play out?