Thursday Night Book Club: The Great Divide

Come talk books with other bibliophiles! This book group will meet on the fourth Thursday of the month. Limited copies of the current selection will be available at the Lending Desk. Registration is not required.

This month we will be reading "The Great Divide" by Cristina Henríquez.

The Canal is hailed as the greatest engineering feat in history—but first, it must be built. Sixteen-year-old Ada Bunting arrives in Panama from Barbados, seeking work among thousands of West Indian laborers. Local fisherman Francisco resents the foreign intrusion, especially when his son Omar joins the diggers in search of connection and purpose. Meanwhile, scientist John Oswald arrives to fight malaria, but when his wife falls ill, he hires Ada as her caregiver after witnessing her bravery. This decision sparks a powerful story of ambition, sacrifice, and the overlooked people whose lives shaped the Canal’s creation.