People of the Book: Summary and book reviews of People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, plus links to an excerpt from People of the Book and a biography of Geraldine Brooks.
People of the Book
by Geraldine Brooks
Hardcover: Jan 2008,
384 pages.
Paperback: Jan 2009,
672 pages.
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.
The title encapsulates it all: it's about the people of the book, because if not for them, the Haggadah would not have survived. Brooks' larger message, one that's particularly apt today, could ultimately be about how diverse cultures influence and enrich one another. (Reviewed by Lisa A. Goldstein).
The Christian Science Monitor - Yvonne Zipp
The occasional heavy-handedness, as well as the fact that every single story is loaded with portent about the treatment of the Jewish people (and women) over the centuries, makes it impossible to shake off the knowledge that Brooks is always hovering over the pages, a benevolent professor conducting a history lesson in the importance of tolerance.
New York Times - Janet Maslin
"For the librarians," says the dedication page of Geraldine Brooks's new novel. That's an understatement. What librarian could resist a novel that has the word book in its title, is centered on an intrepid book conservator, exults in book-preservation exotica and has a plot about a rare book with a long, fraught and serpentine history? But the intense bibliographic appeal of People of the Book turns out to be a mixed blessing. It lands Ms. Brooks neck-deep in research. It overburdens her tale in ways that make it more admirable than gripping.
Entertainment Weekly - Jennifer Reese
The peripatetic tome embodies the long interrelationship — sometimes fruitful, often fraught — between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. But too often, you sense Brooks behind the scenes, pulling strings. B
Chicago Sun-Times Cheryl L Reed
Brooks is not a stylist. Her writing is descriptive without the pileup of clever adjectives. Having learned to write economically while a Wall Street Journal reporter, Brooks dispenses with events in her novel that in another author's hand would take pages. Her use of the dual narrative probably seemed like a nifty way of enlivening dusty details, but its construct detracts from the otherwise fascinating account of a booker whodunit.
Los Angeles Times - Emily Barton
A.S. Byatt published her literary mystery Possession almost 18 years ago, and it's been a long dry season for the genre since -- perhaps because books about books don't naturally present many occasions for derring-do. Geraldine Brooks has, however, half-found and half-invented a swashbuckling book and, despite occasional quirks, woven a tale that's haunting and satisfying.
Library Journal - Barbara Hoffert
Each story is engrossing and deftly woven into the narrative, though the telling is sometimes facile or cloying. Nevertheless, this latest from Pulitzer Prize winner Brooks (March) is a good addition to most libraries and excellent for discussion groups.
Kirkus Reviews
Rich suspense based on a true-life literary puzzle, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Brooks.
Publishers Weekly - Margot Livesey
Brooks is too good a novelist to belabor her political messages, but her depiction of the Haggadah bringing together Jews, Christians and Muslims could not be more timely. Her gift for storytelling, happily, is timeless.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Dorothy T. Great historical novel Geraldine Brooks has a great talent for combining mystery, family conflict, and religious persecution within a framework of historical truth that makes this novel really engrossing. The way she ties the seemingly insignificant clues together and... Read More
Rated 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... Read More
Rated of 5
by linda McG Journeys I loved this book. It took me on a journey I've never traveled before.
Rated 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... Read More
Rated 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... Read More
Rated 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... Read More
People of the
Book is a work
of fiction inspired
by the Sarajevo
Haggadah - all the
characters are
imaginary, as are most of the events.
Extensive photographs and a brief
description of what is known of the
Sarajevo Haggadah's
history
are available at
Sarajevo.net/haggadah.
A Haggadah
contains the order
of the Passover
Seder (a ritual
feast held during
Passover). Haggadah,
which translates as
"telling," fulfills
the scriptural
commandment to each
Jew to tell their
children about the
Jewish liberation
from slavery in
Egypt, as...
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(746 words).
The Christian Science Monitor - Yvonne Zipp
of 5
by Dorothy T.
of 5
by Amanda (A Bookshelf Monstrosity)
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