People of the Book: A Novel | Geraldine Brooks | Mystery and history combined

People of the Book: A Novel | Geraldine Brooks | A Beautiful, Exhilarating Book

books:

People of the Book...

	People of the Book: A Novel Geraldine Brooks Viking Adult, 2008 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 115 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

From the Pulitzer Prize?winning author of March, the journey of a rare illuminated manuscript through centuries of exile and war

In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding?an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair?she begins to unlock the book?s mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book?s journey from its salvation back to its creation.

In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the book becomes a pawn in the struggle against the city?s rising anti-Semitism. In inquisition-era Venice, a Catholic priest saves it from burning. In Barcelona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text sees his family destroyed by the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah?s extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed. Hanna?s investigation unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics. Her experiences will test her belief in herself and the man she has come to love.

Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity, an ambitious, electrifying work by an acclaimed and beloved author.

for more information click here

Mystery and history combined

If you like historical fiction with a bit of mystery intertwined, you will like this. I won't repeat the plot, but I found it totally fascinating and found myself going back to reread parts -- the chapter headings were so helpful, I'm thinking the author anticipated readers rereading parts. The idea of taking art "backwards" isn't new, but it is still fascinating.

And, if you enjoy this title, check out the movie The Red Violin and another great book by Susan Vreeland Girl in Hyacinth Blue

A Beautiful, Exhilarating Book

This is a beautiful book, and I must admit that I burst into tears upon finishing it. It wasn't until I was an adult that I found out from my uncle that our family had been forced out of Spain in 1492. They went to Holland and then eventually made their way across Europe to what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. While the memory of leaving Spain had stayed with the family, the Spanish family name had not. This book gave me a feel of what their life in Spain might have been like.

I disagree with other reviewers about the main character. I liked Hanna and thought the development of her character to be quite realistic.

for more information click here

Great read; rooted in historical fact

This is a great work of historical fiction. Weaving well-researched fact with fictional story, the story of the famous Sarajevo Hagaddah is told here.

People of the Book

The book came sooner than I expected, and I loved every page of it. Thank you

3.5 out of 5: Not high-brow but entertaining nonetheless

This isn't highbrow literature, but it is one of the more entertaining books I've read recently, particularly since I love reading about books and book history. This is the story of an old haggadah (a Jewish sacred test used at the Passover table). The narration alternates from the modern viewpoint of a book restorer to the various people over centuries who have helped the haggadah to survive. The love story contained within the modern narrative moves quicker than I expected and is trite and somewhat tacky. Fortunately, the parts of the story about book restoring are interesting, and the haggadah's history is interesting as well. I'm a bit ashamed to admit I couldn't put this down.

for more information click here