You don’t always need a plane ticket to travel; sometimes, all you need is a book. Often, fictional stories can help us explore worlds outside our own, take us out of life’s everyday tangles, and allow us to widen our perspective. Fifth stop, Oceania! We hope you enjoy this discussion about 'Celestial Bodies' by Jokha Alharthi.
In the village of al-Awafi, Oman, we encounter three sisters: Mayya, who marries following a heartbreak; Asma, who marries from a feeling of duty; and Khawla, who refuses all marital offers and awaits a reunion with her true love, who has moved to Canada. Against the backdrop of a country modernizing from a traditional, slave-owning society, we follow the losses and love affairs of these three women and their families. Through the sisters, we’re provided a panoramic view into Omani society from the poorest slaves to the families who profited off capitalism, globalism, and modernization. Spread over several decades and generations, the narrative structure is both original and impressive and is a prime example of the beauty and power of fictional storytelling.
Hosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. Sometimes even traveling to a place doesn't permit you to see it for how it really is for those who live there. Fiction, on the other hand, can. And thus, season 3 is about widening our perspective. We hope you're coming along and can help do the same. Be sure to check out the Episode Cheat Sheet for an overview.
Episode Notes
0-5 min — Introductory thoughts
5-15 min — Casting the actors
15-20 min — Title and broader significance
20-25 min — Tradition vs Progress
25-30 min — The three sisters
30-35 min — On arranged vs choice marriages
35-40 min — Kowla’s self-deceit
40-45 min — Subtle power of women in the community
45-50 min — Self-acceptance vs resignation from social roles
50-55 min — Conclusion and structure of the novel
55-60 min — Thoughts on the book