Neighbor is excited to host the next iteration of Neighborhood Book Club sponsored by Storefront Church!

We will be discussing Loot by Tania James. Please obtain a copy of the book and read it ahead of time. Purchasing from Bookshop.org supports local bookstores, or consider purchasing from 192 Books on 10th and 21st around the corner from Neighbor. :)

Here's a description of the book, longlisted for the National Book Award 2023:

A spellbinding historical novel set in eighteenth-century India, England, and France about a young man’s dream of leaving a mark on the world.
Abbas is just seventeen years old when his gifts as a woodcarver come to the attention of Tipu Sultan, and he is drawn into service at the palace to build a giant tiger automaton for Tipu’s sons, a gift to commemorate their return from British captivity. His fate—and the fate of the wooden tiger he helps to create—will mirror the vicissitudes of nations and dynasties ravaged by war across India and Europe.

Working alongside the legendary French clockmaker Lucien Du Leze, Abbas hones his craft, learns French, and meets Jehanne, the daughter of a French expatriate. But when British forces attack and loot Mysore, Abbas’s world is turned upside down and his tiger automaton is seized as a prize of war. To prove himself, Abbas must retrieve the tiger from an estate in the English countryside, where it is displayed in a collection of plundered art.

A hero’s quest, a love story, the story of a young artist coming of age, and an exuberant heist novel that traces the bloody legacy of colonialism across two continents and sixty-five years, Loot is a dazzling, wildly inventive, and irresistible feat of storytelling from a writer at the height of her powers.

This is a free event and anyone is welcome to join. Feel free to bring your dinner or a snack to share.