Alamut takes place in 11th Century Persia, in the fortress of Alamut, where self-proclaimed prophet Hasan ibn Sabbah is setting up his mad but brilliant plan to rule the region with a handful of elite fighters who are to become his "living daggers." By creating a virtual paradise at Alamut, filled with beautiful women, lush gardens, wine and hashish, Sabbah is able to convince his young fighters that they can reach paradise if they follow his commands. With parallels to Osama bin Laden, Alamut tells the story of how Sabbah was able to instill fear into the ruling class by creating a small army of devotees who were willing to kill, and be killed, in order to achieve paradise. Believing in the supreme Ismaili motto “Nothing is true, everything is permitted,” Sabbah wanted to “experiment” with how far he could manipulate religious devotion for his own political gain through appealing to what he called the stupidity and gullibility of people and their passion for pleasure and selfish desires.

 The novel focuses on Sabbah as he unveils his plan to his inner circle, and on two of his young followers — the beautiful slave girl Halima, who has come to Alamut to join Sabbah's paradise on earth, and young ibn Tahir, Sabbah's most gifted fighter. As both Halima and ibn Tahir become disillusioned with Sabbah's vision, their lives take unexpected turns.

The SO Very Literary Book Club meets on the 3rd Thursday of every month from 2:00-3:30 pm.  
For 2024, we will be taking a trip around the world with selections that take place in countries near and far.
Everyone is welcome.  Come join us for a year of passionate book discussions!

Registration is appreciated.

Please stay at home if you or any member of your family are sick. Thank you

We look forward to seeing you!  

2024 Titles:

1/18/24 - My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
2/15/24 - True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
3/21/24 - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
4/18/24 - How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
5/16/24 - Girl at War by Sara Novic
6/20/24 - How Iceland Changed the World by Egill Bjarnason
7/18/24 - Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
8/15/24 - Human Acts by Han Kang
9/19/24 - Empress of the Nile by Lynne Olson
10/17/24 - On the Trail of the Jackalope by Michael P. Branch (with the author in attendance)
11/21/24 - Alamut by Vladimir Bartol
12/19/24 - Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson