{"id":25405,"global_id":"www.harwintonlibrary.org?id=25405","global_id_lineage":["www.harwintonlibrary.org?id=25405"],"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2025-11-26 14:49:44","date_utc":"2025-11-26 19:49:44","modified":"2026-06-26 13:57:46","modified_utc":"2026-06-26 17:57:46","url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/?tribe_events=afternoon-book-discussion-2-2026-08-13","rest_url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/tribe\/events\/v1\/events\/25405","title":"Afternoon Book Discussion","description":"

This month’s selection is The Great Divide<\/em> by Cristina Henriquez. A powerful novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, casting light on the unsung people who lived, loved, and labored there<\/p>\n

It is said that the canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built. For Francisco, a local fisherman who resents the foreign powers clamoring for a slice of his country, nothing is more upsetting than the decision of his son, Omar, to work as a digger in the excavation zone. But for Omar, whose upbringing was quiet and lonely, this job offers a chance to finally find connection.<\/p>\n

Ada Bunting is a bold sixteen-year-old from Barbados who arrives in Panama as a stowaway alongside thousands of other West Indians seeking work. Alone and with no resources, she is determined to find a job that will earn enough money for her ailing sister’s surgery. When she sees a young man–Omar–who has collapsed after a grueling shift, she is the only one who rushes to his aid.<\/p>\n

John Oswald has dedicated his life to scientific research and has journeyed to Panama in single-minded pursuit of one goal: eliminating malaria. But now, his wife, Marian, has fallen ill herself, and when he witnesses Ada’s bravery and compassion, he hires her on the spot as a caregiver. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping tale of ambition, loyalty, and sacrifice. <\/p>\n

Searing and empathetic, The Great Divide explores the intersecting lives of activists, fishmongers, laborers, journalists, neighbors, doctors, and soothsayers–those rarely acknowledged by history even as they carved out its course.<\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"afternoon-book-discussion-2-2026-08-13","image":{"url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/great.jpg","id":27267,"extension":"jpg","width":183,"height":276,"filesize":28190,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":11198,"url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/great-150x150.jpg"},"post-slider-thumb-size":{"width":183,"height":190,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":18110,"url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/great-183x190.jpg"},"rpg_gallery_admin_thumb":{"width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":11198,"url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/great-150x150.jpg"},"rpg_gallery_thumb":{"width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":11198,"url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/great-150x150.jpg"},"blossom-coach-schema":{"width":40,"height":60,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":2007,"url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/great-40x60.jpg"}}},"all_day":false,"start_date":"2026-08-13 14:00:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"08","day":"13","hour":"14","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2026-08-13 15:00:00","end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"08","day":"13","hour":"15","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_start_date":"2026-08-13 18:00:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"08","day":"13","hour":"18","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2026-08-13 19:00:00","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"08","day":"13","hour":"19","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_abbr":"EDT","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"$","currency_code":"USD","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"","show_map":false,"show_map_link":false,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[{"name":"Book Discussion","slug":"book-discussion","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":54,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":24,"filter":"raw","id":54,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/54","collection":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}}],"tags":[],"venue":{"id":1132,"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2019-03-16 18:29:57","date_utc":"2019-03-16 18:29:57","modified":"2019-03-16 18:29:57","modified_utc":"2019-03-16 18:29:57","url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/?tribe_venue=harwinton-public-library","venue":"Harwinton Public Library","slug":"harwinton-public-library","address":"80 Bentley Drive","city":"Harwinton","country":"United States","state":"CT","zip":"06791","phone":"860-485-9113","stateprovince":"CT","json_ld":{"@type":"Place","name":"Harwinton Public Library","description":"","url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/?tribe_venue=harwinton-public-library","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"80 Bentley Drive","addressLocality":"Harwinton","addressRegion":"CT","postalCode":"06791","addressCountry":"United States"},"telephone":"860-485-9113","sameAs":""},"show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"global_id":"www.harwintonlibrary.org?id=1132","global_id_lineage":["www.harwintonlibrary.org?id=1132"]},"organizer":[],"custom_fields":[],"json_ld":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Event","name":"Afternoon Book Discussion","description":"<p>This month\\'s selection is The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez. A powerful novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, … <\/p>\\n","image":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/great.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/?tribe_events=afternoon-book-discussion-2-2026-08-13","eventAttendanceMode":"https:\/\/schema.org\/OfflineEventAttendanceMode","eventStatus":"https:\/\/schema.org\/EventScheduled","startDate":"2026-08-13T14:00:00-04:00","endDate":"2026-08-13T15:00:00-04:00","location":{"@type":"Place","name":"Harwinton Public Library","description":"","url":"https:\/\/www.harwintonlibrary.org\/?tribe_venue=harwinton-public-library","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"80 Bentley Drive","addressLocality":"Harwinton","addressRegion":"CT","postalCode":"06791","addressCountry":"United States"},"telephone":"860-485-9113","sameAs":""},"performer":"Organization"},"is_virtual":false,"virtual_url":null,"virtual_video_source":""}