People of the Book: A Novel
by Geraldine Brooks
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Book Summary Information
Author: Geraldine BrooksEdition: Hardcover
Published: 2008-01-01
ISBN: 067001821X
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Viking Adult
Book Reviews of People of the Book: A Novel
Book Review: A Survivor
Summary: 4 Stars
The Sarajevo Haggadah, a real Hebrew codex, has miraculously survived five centuries of violence, warfare and mankind's tendency to destroy whatever is seen as a threat to those who for the moment have that kind of power. The fact that this haggadah is an illuminated text, a surprising style for a Jewish text of that period, makes the book exceptionally rare and of great historical value. The book might have been destroyed during the Bosnian conflict that devastated Sarajevo but for the intervention of a Muslim scholar who moved it to the safety of a bank vault, at least the second time in its history that this Jewish book was saved with direct Muslim help.
This is the point at which Geraldine Brooks chooses to begin her latest novel, People of the Book. Dr. Hannah Heath, an Australian expert in the field, has come to Sarajevo to ensure that the book is being properly cared for and to prepare it for exhibition in a Sarajevo museum as a symbol of the city's, and a people's, survival. During her examination of the book, Heath is thrilled to find inside it a few clues that might allow her to partially reconstruct the history of the book and its travels through the centuries. She finds: part of an insect wing, a white hair, a few salt crystals and what appears to be a wine stain.
Through a series of flashbacks drawing ever nearer to the book's origins, Brooks details for readers what the few clues can only hint at to Dr. Heath concerning the book's travels across Europe and the people who possessed and protected it over the centuries. Throughout its history this haggadah has been important to the people who owned it. It survived through a combination of luck and the extraordinarily brave efforts of people who were determined to see it survive. One flashback tells how it barely escaped falling into the hands of despicable Nazi looters, another of what happened to the book in 1894 Vienna, and others recount its creation and subsequent survival of the Spanish Inquisition years. As the book passes from hand-to-hand, backward in time, the reader comes to appreciate the miracle of its survival and the people who made that happen.
As Hanna Heath seeks to learn as much about the Sarajevo Haggadah as she can, she finds herself on a parallel journey in which she learns as much about herself and her personal origins as she does about the book. She finds herself attracted to the man who carried the haggadah to safety in Sarajevo, has to fight self-doubts about her professional competence, and is forced into a confrontation with her mother that will forever change her life.
People of the Book is at once a mystery, a history lesson and a modern day romance. My only quarrel with the book is its "Mission Impossible" ending which, for me, served to completely change the tone of the story being told and rather jarringly reminded me that I was reading fiction. Fortunately, this distraction came late enough in the narrative not to ruin the book for me.
Summary of People of the Book: A Novel
Amazon Significant Seven, January 2008: One of the earliest Jewish religious volumes to be illuminated with images, the Sarajevo Haggadah survived centuries of purges and wars thanks to people of all faiths who risked their lives to safeguard it. Geraldine Brooks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, has turned the intriguing but sparely detailed history of this precious volume into an emotionally rich, thrilling fictionalization that retraces its turbulent journey. In the hands of Hanna Heath, an impassioned rare-book expert restoring the manuscript in 1996 Sarajevo, it yields clues to its guardians and whereabouts: an insect wing, a wine stain, salt crystals, and a white hair. While readers experience crucial moments in the book's history through a series of fascinating, fleshed-out short stories, Hanna pursues its secrets scientifically, and finds that some interests will still risk everything in the name of protecting this treasure. A complex love story, thrilling mystery, vivid history lesson, and celebration of the enduring power of ideas, People of the Book will surely be hailed as one of the best of 2008. --Mari Malcolm 
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-si?cle 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.
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