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Guesthouse for Ganesha, by Judith Teitelman

Guesthouse for Ganesha

Available now in Paperback, eBook and Audio formats

Judith Teitelman

Meet Judith Teitelman, the author

I’m really yet another “Accidental Novelist.” I never intended to write fiction. But life’s journeys take us in a myriad of different directions — often to places we don’t anticipate or imagine. Essentially that’s what happened to me. A dear friend started a new writers’ group on Saturday mornings and, basically, dragged me into it. And I hated it. But I showed up — every Saturday morning at 10am with my soy latte in one hand and my notebook and pens in the other. Because I committed and I honor my commitments.

It was there I discovered that this story had been percolating within me for a very long time. In the first month or so of those Saturday mornings, I realized that I had a title in my head. A title I didn’t understand and had no idea of its origin. I spent quite a few Saturdays trying to understand it, to decipher it. Until a friend’s passing led me to an old journal of mine where I found an inscription (nothing leading up to it; nothing of significance noted after) dated 25 June 1983 that read: The title is Guesthouse for Ganesha. Needless to say, I was shocked.

At that moment I surrendered. Fully. I knew there was a story that had to be told.

Cozy up … or fly away! Adventure … Romance … Inspiration … every week, straight to your IN box!

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Applause! Applause!

Teitelman paints an intensely beautiful world in which different cultures merge in surprising ways …. A rich and moving story about an unlikely pair.

Kirkus Reviews

… a riveting story of lost love, survival, and spiritual awakening.

NRI Pulse, Home of the Indian American family

From the dreamlike prologue to the final epilogue, this is a powerful and absorbing read — a novel written with love in the spirit of healing and renewal.

Jewish Book Council

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Talk a Little, Talk a Lot

All great reads, like this one, have themes or ideas, or just hints, for discussion topics in your book club. Here are a few ideas for you:

The novel begins with, first, a description of the Hebrew letter “Bet,” followed by the Rumi poem “The Guest House.” How do these inform the story? Did they provide you with a greater understanding of the story and its unfolding?
Did Esther’s experiences resonate with you? If so, how? If not, why? In what ways might her story be your story?
How was reading this novel different from reading other novels of Jewish survival against difficult to impossible odds? And how did you feel about the author’s integration of the Hindu God Ganesha and his world views and perspectives?
What’s the significance of the title for you?
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Or choose one of these topics:

Africa Anthology Art Birds Book Banning Chronic illness Ecology Faraway Places Holocaust Japanese Internment Legends Magic Mexico Native Americans Peace Corps Poetry Siblings Somalia Writers/Poets

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