People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks
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Book Reviews of People of the Book: A Novel
Book Review: "There, where one burns books, one in the end burns people." Heinrich Heine
Summary: 5 Stars
A book is the real protagonist of Geraldine Brooks' latest novel, "People of the Book." The author writes in the "Afterward" section that this is a work of fiction, inspired by the true story "of the Hebrew codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. The haggadah is an illuminated manuscript which contains the traditional text of the Passover haggadah that accompanies the Passover Seder. It is one of the oldest Sephardic haggadahs in the world, originating in Spain in the 15th century. The author succeeds in creating a riveting account of the volume's history, from its origins in Seville to a 21st century museum in Sarajevo.
What makes this book so precious, besides its age and great beauty, is that it is illustrated with numerous miniature paintings, much like the Christian illuminations of the Gospels. Jews, during this period, considered figurative art a violation of the Third Commandment, which prohibits the making of "any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth below." Who was the talented artist who created this masterpiece and broke with tradition? And why?
When the mysterious book was discovered in Sarajevo in 1894 it was considered a miracle that it had survived, almost intact, for so many centuries - tumultuous centuries filled with violence. It was not destroyed during the expulsion of the Jews and Moors from Spain in 1492, nor was it burned during the Holy Inquisition, which began in 1498, when Tomas de Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, targeted Marranos, Jews who had converted to Christianity. Large numbers of Jews then migrated to Venice, where they were expelled, once again, and their books burned, in the 17th century, but this Haggadah was kept safe. The treasure somehow survived and made its way, along with the "People of the Book," to Sarajevo, where the Ottomans had initially welcomed them in 1565.
During the Dark Ages, the Muslim's vast empire extended into Europe and southern Spain. Their culture was the "one bright light where science, art, and poetry still flourished." Both Jews and Muslims were reviled, tortured and murdered by the Christians, and together, in places like Sarajevo, the two peoples could live in peace. Still, the book and its people were to experience much more brutality and bloodshed in WWI and WWII.
One of the most dangerous periods in the volume's history was the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, an international armed conflict that took place between March 1992 and November 1995. The city of Sarajevo was under constant siege.
In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare book expert, is offered a job by the UN to conserve the Sarajevo Haggadah, after it is discovered intact, even though many had feared it had been destroyed during the heavy shelling of the city. Dr. Ozren Karaman, (a fictitious character, based on a real person), is chief librarian of the Sarajevo National Museum and professor of "librarianship" at the National University of Bosnia. Dr. Karaman, a Muslim, risked his life to save a Jewish book.
Hanna's task is to prepare the fragile volume for an exhibition at a newly built museum. As she works, she finds clues to the haggadah's history - an insect's wing, a fine white hair, stains of wine and blood on a few pages, missing clasps, and a few grains of salt. She is determined to solve the mystery of the extraordinary object's provenance. She and Dr. Karaman begin a tentative romance at this point. Hanna, a most appealing person, and an irreverent Aussie, has problems with relationships, both with men and with her mother. This is due to past events which occurred in Hanna's childhood and provide an interesting glimpse into her character.
There are frequent flashbacks to medieval Spain, 15th century Venice, 19th century Vienna, Jewish communities near the the Adriatic Sea in the 1940s, and to Seville in 1480, where the reader finally meets the illuminator who created the haggadah. We are introduced to the people who came into contact with the book throughout its history and protected it.
Geraldine Brooks' characters are rich, colorful and well developed. Her recounting of the history surrounding the book is extremely well researched, and her own imagination is very fertile. The narrative is well written and the pace is fast. Ms. Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, "March," which I read and enjoyed very much. But I was enthralled reading "People of the Book." It is definitely a 5 STAR novel.
Jana Perskie
The Book Thief
The Shadow of the Wind
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Book Review: History and Fiction Blended to Perfection
Summary: 5 Stars
I love it when a book is able to seamlessly and eloquently combine fiction and history, leaving you wondering where fiction ends and truth begins. As a voracious reader, I enjoy being able to delicately step through a story's pages and revel in the imagination of the writer, whilst learning a new nugget of actual history that sadly, didn't make any of my history classes in high school or college.
People of the Book: A Novel, by Geraldine Brooks, does just that. This is a treat beyond all compare, beauty of history and story within front and back covers. The Haggadah is a Jewish book that is read on the first night of Passover and tells the stories of enslavement, and the subsequent miracles performed by God which ultimately resulted in freedom. In People of the Book, Hannah Heath is a rare books expert from Australia who travels to battle-torn Sarajevo in 1996. Her task is to preserve the beautiful Sarajevo Haggadah that has just been uncovered after 100 years. This Haggadah, though, is very different both in color and in sketch -- odd that it has survived throughout the years, since its original creation date sometime in the 14th century in Spain would have been during a time when drawing a person and illuminating it as such, although clothed, was considered offensive. Somehow it has survived throughout the years from the Spanish Inquisition to the Holocaust. Piqued by this curiosity, and passionate about preservation, Hannah also finds several items that are encapsulated within the pages of the book, such as a red stain, or a white hair, or an insect wing, and these objects become the opportunity for the author to explain in whose hands this book may have fallen, and the significance they earned in history. We watch the book travel from Venice and to Vienna, and we learn the stories of the people who held the book, cared for the book, and saved the book, ultimately saving a critical piece of Jewish history. Although some of these sections are fictionalized, the story of the Sarajevo Haggadah sends the message to the reader that it has become even more than just the colorful drawings and the binding of it, but about the people of the book, the people who fought and died for this incredible piece of history.
I found this refreshing and moving, and I was struck by the significance of a book that is of such beauty and importance to history. It made me wonder who really were the people that protected it through hundreds of years? Geraldine Brooks writes each character and scene in such a fluid manner, moments depicted with such heartbreak, such horror, and yet with hope. It moved quickly for me and it wasn't long before I finished.
When I closed the book, I felt regret that I had never learned of this subject and felt that it was a duty of mine to learn more on such an important topic. I immediately began to research away and found several important sites that held more information that helped my education on this subject grow.
Reading People of the Book has made my visits to the museum a much different experience, awareness more profoundly etched within me, as I look at an object on display -- in whose hands did this significant artifact fall, how did this manage to survive time and human ignorance to get to this museum behind protected glass, for me to view? And on my list of places to visit, I will add Sarajevo no matter how battle-torn, simply to be able to visit with the amazing Sarajevo Haggadah, where it is on permanent display.
Book Review: True story? Doesn't matter, it's a GREAT read
Summary: 5 Stars
"Inspired" by a true story - not "based" on a true story. This makes a difference to me. I was able to enjoy the book as wonderful fiction without the need to find the true story to verify.
This book is actually two stories. One is the book itself. One is Hanna's life of family & friends, love & betrayal.
We have the conservation of the book and finding the fragments. Each artifact gives us double stories, Hanna's present day search of the why and then a jump back in time for each fragment. I'm sure the "then" part is what makes this fiction ;)
We also have Hanna. Why was she chosen when she is not the top of the field? The relationships she has with family and friends. What is she willing to do to find the truth? This story also has betrayal & more betrayal. And redemption.
This story sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. I loved the detail we got on the process of conservation without it being too heavy, but the "then" part of the book was my favorite. Hanna would find an insect wing and then we would get to read how it got there, way back when. It was fabulous!
This was a new author for me and I felt such satisfaction when I finished, I wanted to go out and purchase all of her books. I haven't done that yet, wondering if the others will live up to this one. The only thing I want to verify is the room. I'd love to see that!
Book Review: Illumination of the Human Spirit Delivers Engaging Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks has a talent for taking a tiny thread from history and weaving it into an engrossing novel. In People of the Book, Ms. Brooks displays great sensitivity to religious persecution, personal dignity and the role of art and culture as she spins an epic tale of the Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the first Jewish volumes to be illustrated.
The Haggadah, describing proper rituals for the Seder, is passed from the hands of its unlikely originator in Seville, 1480, through several countries and generations. The interweaving of these saviors of "the book" is seamless and expertly researched. I was captivated from the first page. The historic segments stand out from the intertwining modern day narrative due to the resilience and determination of the characters. Hanna, the modern day book restorer, is the link to the past as she discovers clues in the book which prompt the back stories.
Orzen, a main character, wonders why more people do not understand that "to be a human being matters more than to be a Jew, a Muslim or...a Catholic." People of the Book is a tribute to healing those prejudices that separate us. I highly recommend this skillfully constructed, compelling novel.
Ms. Brooks' next novel, Caleb's Crossing, about the first Native American to graduate from Harvard, will be released in May 2011.
Book Review: Do You Have to LIKE the Characters?
Summary: 5 Stars
A couple of prior reviewers gave this book a bad review based on the personality of the narrator. They called Hannah (PotB's Scheherzade) arrogant, high-strung, self-centered etc. OK, so what? She's also short-tempered, insecure, she gives up her career for six years because someone disagrees with her and her love life is a mess. Some positive reviewers talk about her finding herself at the end of the book. I disagree. With enough cultural and emotional baggage to fill a set of his-and-hers steamer trunks I veiwed the end of the book as a couple sailing off into a typhoon rather than a sunset.
So, you may ask, how can I give the book such a high rating. Well, because I'm READING about the characters: not DATING them! She's interesting, complex, flawed. You need to give Ms. Brooks a lot of credit for creating in Hannah a character that you can have mixed feelings about. Don't get me wrong. There were SOME things I liked about her. She's not a total Hubert Humbert Lolita (Everyman's Library (Cloth)) ;-) Would I marry Hannah? No way! Did I enjoy following her around the world? Absolutely!