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Loading... People of the Bookby Geraldine Brooks
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. After being disappointed in Year of Wonder, I was delighted with People of the Book. The story (I should really say stories) was well crafted as were the characters (I'm still worried about the little deaf mute boy...). (  )ddelmoni | Jul 7, 2009 |   A very engaging, well-written historical novel about a search for the origins of an old document - a religious book. Dispassionate comparison of religions, along with a skillful plot. I have learned a lot from it about nuances of some of the worlds main religions and practices. The author masterfully places us into intervals of time far removed from the present, and yet I felt as if I were there, as early as 1400s. Compassion and understanding of religions other than your own threads its way through the book, maybe not as a reality, but as a background (at times, alas, wishful) thought. I do recommend it. (  )Clara53 | Jul 7, 2009 | The premise was interesting; it certainly sparked an interest in the artifact itself. Unfortunately, Brooks took me through so many horrific episodes in the life of this one book she traces, I ended up resenting her for assaulting my mind with horrific imagery - torture, cruelty, abuse - I still can't shake many of them, and in her own way, she generated as much hatred as she recounted throughout history. The end result was so unpleasant, I doubt I'll trust her as an author in the future. chiara2 | Jul 4, 2009 | Great read...a little slow at time, but keeps your interest. (  )meadowmist | Jul 1, 2009 | People of the Book traces the history of an ornately illustrated haggadah (Jewish holy book), surviving five hundred years against the odds as its owners shelter it from the growing anti-Semitic movements in Europe from the 1400s onward. With every artifact or anomaly that the twentieth century conservationist discovers, there is a history to it from hundreds of years ago. I am so torn about this book. The historical fiction sections are truly wonderful and impressive. A lot of research went into them, and every location and character is rich and believable. But the "modern" portions of the book, following the conservationist through her vapid and self-impressed narrative, fell really flat and dragged down a lot of the book's experience for me. But the historical chapters are so good! I wish Geraldine Brooks had chosen a different method to link them together. So, a book that I'm deeply ambivalent about, but still one worth reading. (  )the_awesome_opossum | Jun 28, 2009 | 0.033 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 067001821X, Hardcover)Amazon Best of the Month, 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 (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:11 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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