return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
twitter Bookmark and Share mail to a friend Email
   Reader reviews of People of the Book

Read what people think about People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, and write your own review.

People of the Book

People of the Book
by Geraldine Brooks
Hardcover: Jan 2008,
384 pages.
Paperback: Jan 2009,
672 pages.

Publication information
Author Information
Critics' Opinion:   
Readers' Rating:  
About BookBrowse Rankings
Buy This Book
Page 1 of 1 There are currently 5 reviews
for People of the Book
Select your view:
Order Reviews by:
Click Here To Write Your Own Review
Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Amanda (A Bookshelf Monstrosity)
People of the Book
Man, I love big, fat books in which I can totally get lost. And this book, spanning multiple countries over 500 years, is the ultimate saga covering art, religious persecution, book conservation, and more. I know that the length of the book can seem intimidating, but readers who are interested in these themes will not be sorry they read it.

Interspersed throughout Hanna's narrative in 1996 Sarajevo are the stories of the various people throughout history who were in some way connected with the survival of the ancient Haggadah. Each period we visit in the book's history corresponds with a fragment or small object found by Hanna's conservation efforts of the ancient book. On the journey, readers will encounter war, discrimination, prejudice, and tradition that lasts for centuries.

The Hagaddah in the book is in fact based on a real object, the Sarajevo Hagaddah, written around 1314 in Spain.


Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by linda McG
Journeys
I loved this book. It took me on a journey I've never traveled before.


Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by PDXReader
Good historical fiction
I really loved the idea of tracing an important book back through history using clues left in its binding. The parts of this novel that focused on the object's past and on the people who had been involved in its handling were excellent and illuminating; it made great historical fiction. Unfortunately, these marvelous scenes are bracketed by the unconvincing modern-day story of the woman charged with restoring the book. Some of actions she takes are ludicrous, her character is unbelievable, and the author’s attempts to draw us into this character’s personal life simply don’t work. I think the book is worth reading, but it’s definitely not perfect.


Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Alina M Noval
Magical gut wrenching book about man's inhumanity and humanity
People of the book took me on a journey of complexity and more understanding of religions, the seriousness of their beginnings and the people who were raised by very strong principals. I was invested in more Christianity Judaism and of Muslims in different eras different wars and the loss and suffering of humanity. Humanity suffers and endure whether personally or historically and especially because of wars fought for religion, money greed and power. The author of The People of the Book is a fantastic storyteller reweaving the stories as intricately as the book was. Perhaps one day we could all live like in the Convivencia of long ago where Jews Christians and Muslims lived in harmony (as I'm sure god would prefer.) i sobbed at certain points and Brooks writing touched me deeply. Geraldine Brooks definitely deserves the Pulitzer prize.


Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Janice Prindle
People of the Book
My local bookstore owner recommended it, and she never steers me wrong. Brooks creates unforgettable characters as she leapfrogs from present day Sarajevo to World War Two to 19th century Vienna...and ultimately to 15th century Spain and the Conviviencia, a Golden Age where Jews, Muslims and Christians lived in peace and learned from one another. There's an international "thriller" aspect to this novel as well as the uncovering of a family secret undermining a complex mother-daughter relationship. But above all, Brooks offers us a rich portrayal of the interweaving of Eastern and Western cultures around the Mediterranean that have created the world of strife we live in today, and she shows us the hope of a new Conviviencia based on our shared love of our common artistic heritage. Fantastic!


  1

Lists of books with similar themes


Read-Alikes


Other books by Geraldine Brooks
Buy This Book:

Become a Member
The Leftovers
Editor's Choice
  •  May 24 
  •  May 22 
  •  May 20 
Luminarium
Alex Shakar
Luminarium Jacket Do you feel... Your life is without purpose? Your days are without meaning? There's something about existence you're just not getting?
Lehrter Station
David Downing
Lehrter Station Jacket WWII has ended… But the danger has just begun for a spy caught between political superpowers.
All Woman and Springtime
Brandon W. Jones
All Woman and Springtime Jacket This spellbinding debut, reminiscent of Memoirs of a Geisha, depicts, with chilling accuracy, life behind North Korea's iron curtain.
Birdseye
Mark Kurlansky
Birdseye Jacket The first biography of Clarence Birdseye, the eccentric genius inventor whose fast-freezing process revolutionized the food industry and American agriculture.
A Land More Kind Than Home
Wiley Cash
A Land More Kind Than Home Jacket A mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small western North Carolina town.
Click Here
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Why "Fifty Shades of Grey" Is So Successful
Summer 2012: Movies Based on Books
Following the Thread - Great Book Design
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
The Butterfly Cabinet
  Latest BookBrowse News
BookExpo America will broadcast live author appearances for the first time (May 24 2012)
For the first time, BookExpo America is making author appearances at the show available for viewing online live or on demand, via Livestream. It is... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
BookBrowse Poll
Q: Have you bought a book in any of these stores in the last 3 months?
Walmart
Costco
Sam's Club
Any other warehouse store
Any other bricks & mortar location that isn't a bookstore
None of these
Select Any That Apply
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters

Online Book Club
More about
Next to Love
Join the discussion!

BookBrowse Showcase
visit showcase now!
Advertise Here

First Impressions
Members Recommend:
A Simple Murder
by Eleanor Kuhns
Four Stars
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
by Anna Quindlen
4.5 Stars
A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar
by Suzanne Joinson
Four Stars
The Secrets of Mary Bowser
by Lois Leveen
Five Stars
The Voluntourist
by Ken Budd
3.5 Stars
Afterwards
by Rosamund Lupton
4.5 Stars
more...


Win This Book!
Beneath The Shadows

Beneath the Shadows jacket

A thrilling gothic debut - publishing June 5

Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"S T Pass I T N"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Isabel Allende
Alice Hoffman
Richard Ford
Mark Seal
frame bottom
HOME Submissions | Advertising | Libraries | Media Inquiries | Reviewers | Contact Us