This book started off so strong, with a great premise. A 16th C. Venetian Jewish Trader travels the sea based silk route to the SE Asia in search of new goods. Well written very detailed, where the book got lost in the invention of the fictional kingdom of Pegu lacking details and connected historical references that are the hallmark of great historical fiction. From the middle all the way to the end this dragged the book down.

Abraham is a devout Italian Jew of the sixteenth century. He travels to strange and exotic places as a jewel trader for his uncle's business. No matter how far from the eyes of fellow worshippers or in what circumstances he find himself, he continues his morning prayers and religious rituals. He deals honestly in business and tries to be kind and tolerant even in unusual circumstances. When he reaches the Burmese port city of Pegu in 1598 he expects to remain the man he is. But a shocking stumbling block to his faith will be put squarely in his path and how he handles it will affect his being tolerated in this strange kingdom and how well he will do in business. He struggles fiercely against compromise for some time.

Told entirely through the daily letters home to his beloved cousin Joseph, it is at once an adventure and a compelling story about what is really important to us. How far would we would go to experience and keep true love? When the pressure to follow the local custom of deflowering young brides to bring luck to the families becomes intolerable he reasons with himself "The law and my heart must be one. How could I follow my heart and betray the law and still call myself a Jew? But how could the law demand I betray my heart? I would be lost if I had to do either." The Jewel Trader of Pegu is not about sex as some have imagined. It's about the moral dilemma of a man who wants to do the right thing. The choice Abraham makes will change his life forever.

This is sensitive story telling, often with profound philosophical or spiritual insights into the differences of religion, culture and social customs. Abraham slowly realizes that it's not really his place to judge these people who tattoo their legs with grotesques images, or scar their faces and blacken their teeth. He is surprised to find himself beginning to view their customs and Buddhist thinking in a different light. Though he will be happy to finish his uncle's business and leave for home. Then war, along with looting and reprisals threaten the town. All other foreigners have reasonably fled for home but Abraham has suddenly and unexpectedly found, in a young widow named Mya, a reason for staying and risking everything.

This is one of the best novels I've read this year. A gem of a story, I give it five stars and my highest recommendation.

http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/200... ( )

Abraham is a young Jewish man from the ghettos of Venice who travels in 1598 to Pegu (part of Burma, as far as I can tell). He goes on behalf of his uncle who took him in when he was orphaned as a child and who is a jewel merchant. Pegu is a goldmine of precious jewels for European traders who can take them back to their homes for great profit.

Abraham is a devout man, one who is determined to abide by his religion while far from home, although he greatly enjoys the freedom of not being subjected to the traditional rules that Europe places on its Jews, rules like no touching fruit in the market. Peguan culture eventually conflicts with Jewish culture, though, and provides Abraham with a very difficult decision, one that will change his life.

I liked this book, but I was not totally blown away by it. The writing was good and very descriptive of life in Pegu. I think my main problem was trying to read anything resembling historical fiction right on the heels of “The Sunne in Splendor.” Perhaps part of my problem as well is that I was expecting historical fiction and “The Jewel Trader of Pegu” seemed to me to be more literary fiction in an historical setting than actually historical fiction.

“The Jewel Trader of Pegu” was pretty good and I would recommend it for someone who enjoys literary fiction and is interested in reading something in an historical setting. Don’t go into it expecting traditional historical fiction, though. ( )

The Jewel Trader of Pegu is a delightfully descriptive and gently observed novel by Jeffrey Hantover. Told in epistolary fashion, The Jewel Trader of Pegu follows the journey of 16th century jeweler Abraham. Abraham is a young man who is prompted to travel the world collecting precious stones to bring back to his uncle to sell after the death of his wife and newborn son in childbirth. He writes to his cousin Joseph, a man who sees in many ways his opposite, back home. His last stop on his journey around the world is the mystical country of Pegu, which is located in Burma. There he is faced with crisis of conscience and religious faith as he is asked by the people of his temporary homeland to perform a sacred custom for brides, which goes against the basic articles of his faith.

Abraham is at first able to decline participation in the process, but as it becomes clear that he is upsetting the people who have embraced him, there is also the implicit threat of being expelled from the country for refusal to fully participate in the workings of society. Abraham’s letters are interspersed with the narrative of an unknown young woman from his host country who provides an alternate perspective of her people and their customs. She emerges an important part on Abraham’s life and the catalyst of a major decision that he makes which define him for himself.

Reading this book I luxuriated in beautiful writing and interest ideas as Abraham explores his own religious customs and values against the backdrop of people whose beliefs and practices are radically different from what he had been taught and had blindly believed all his years. He compares their acts of barbarity with those of his own country, and wonders who is right. It’s always interesting to me to be exposed to other ideas that my own culture would be considered backwards or barbaric. Abraham is the perfect filter for this because he is always questioning and viewing his reactions and wondering how they came about, questioning and reviewing his actions to people and contrasting how Jews are treated by the Christians back home in Venice.

This novel also raised for me the questions of identity and who we are when we are away from our home country and culture and faced with living and surviving in a place that often has us out of our comfort zone? How fluid is identity and religion when we are surrounded by what is totally unfamiliar? How do we justify our own barbaric acts and for what reasons and by whose standards do we consider them to be valid reasons?

This book is graceful, thoughtful and slow moving. If you are looking for action then this isn’t something I would recommend. Some of the scenes and depictions of war can be graphic but there aren’t rapid-fire events moving the plot along. This is a book of self-examination and ideas.

Moderately interesting story of the 16the century relationship between a Jewish jewel trader from Venice and the community of Myanamar he lives among. ( )