Henna House

In the tradition of Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent, Henna House is the enthralling story
of a woman, her family, their community, and the rituals that bind them.

Nomi Eve’s vivid saga begins in Yemen in 1920, when Adela Damari’s parents desperately seek a future husband for their young daughter. 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’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.

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Praise for Henna House

"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."

“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 ofthese marvelous, exotic people and locales. Nomi Eve captivated me.”

"Nomi Eve's novel is a heady mix of henna, history, and the power of words written on skin, sand, and paper. An engrossing, surprising, compelling read."

"[Eve] is a storyteller of uncommon energy and poise."