Brooks won the Pulitzer in 2006 for her book March, so I felt obligated to try People of the Book when I saw it on display at the mega-bookstore that shall remain unnamed. I feel guilty that I didn’t spend my money at the local independent bookstore. I had a gift card. What could I do.

The book is about the Sarajevo Haggadah, a Jewish religious text that tells the story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt. It’s believed that this Haggadah originated some time in the 14th century in Spain and made it’s way to Sarajevo, surviving Jewish expulsion, the Spanish Inquisition, World War II, and the Bosnian War. The Haggadah contains some beautiful illustrations similar to Christian prayer books, and one of them includes a Moorish woman. This raises several historical questions about why this Jewish text has Christian influenced artwork and a Moorish woman. Brooks’ fictional protagonist is a conservationist of ancient texts. She finds several clues as to the Haggadah’s origins and history while restoring it for the museum in Sarajevo. The chapters take the reader back in time to tell the fictional story behind each clue, which is pretty interesting, but several times Brooks uses corny plot twists along the lines of something from a Dan Brown novel. Most are in the present and involve the protagonist and her own little storyline. Overall, the book is about how multiculturalism is great and created this wonderful work of art, but I have to say I felt the Christians in this book took a beating. I know, the Inquisition. I can’t argue with that. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but there are several times Brooks could have gone in a different direction with certain characters. Again, the Dan Brown nonsense really turns me off. It wasn’t a lot, but that’s my pet peeve, especially coming from a writer who won the Pulitzer.

People of the Book is good, and it kept my interest, but it’s not as good as I thought it would be. I guess that’s what I get for not buying March, but I figured her follow up to the Pulitzer could only be better…right? ( )

The book reads like a series of historical short stories that are interspersed among chapters of a short novel about a present-day book conservator. Dr. Hanna Heath is restoring a 500-year old Jewish codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah; each of her discoveries about the book is followed by a chapter containing a glimpse of the people and circumstances involved in its history.It took me a while to warm up to this. We don't see much of Hanna's depth until the latter half of the book, and the first few historical chapters describe attempts to save the book from destruction by the Nazis or the Inquisitors. While the characters are vividly drawn, there's not much suspense in these chapters -- we already know the haggadah will be saved, since we've seen Hanna working with it. However, when Brooks takes us to the haggadah's origins, to the painter and calligrapher that made it in the first place, that's when the real mysteries of the book begin to reveal themselves in all of their beauty, tragedy, and hope. ( )

Good weaving of story lines ~ Brooks tells a good story but lacks sophistication in descriptive techniques; I would like a lot more detail about settings, the visual sense of place is missing. ( )

I came to this book with great expectations, having read and loved Brooks' first novel, 'Year of Wonders' several times over the years. This one didn't quite live up to her debut for me, but I certainly wasn't disappointed. Brooks has put together a sweeping work giving the reader glimpses into the journey of the famous Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illustrated ancient Jewish prayer book.

She alternates chapters from the point of view of Hanna, a feisty young book conservator working on the haggadah, with episodes from the book's history, flowing through time and skipping across countries to follow it from its creation to its revered status today. It is an epic story, filled with hardship and death, war and persecution, romance and courage. Perhaps one of the reasons I preferred 'Year of Wonders' was its message of pulling together in times of natural disaster in order to survive. This novel was about the survival of the book when human bonds were being torn apart, and Brooks doesn't shy away from the cruelty of war and the idea of history repeating itself in the face of mankind's own futile desire for superiority.

I don't think I would read it again in a hurry - although the book survived, it was heartbreaking the way lives were being senselessly destroyed all around it. Suicide, murder, book burning, torture, it's all here. Most of this book is fictional, but the research on the religious turmoil and the bravery of the people known to have protected the haggadah is as meticulous as we would expect from Brooks. It's well worth a read: it made me think, it made me cry, it left me pondering huge themes and questions, and it reminded me of how lucky I am compared to these individuals who had to show immense courage just to hold on to their beliefs and stay alive. ( )

It was an interesting read, but not one I would rave about. I liked the way different chapters were from different time periods and people. It was quite readable. ( )