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. ( )

I was very surprised by how much I liked this book. I was so unfamiliar with this topic but impressed with the story. Abraham is a gem merchant who was born in Venice but after personal tragedy decided to travel to the Burmese kingdom of Pegu in the year 1598. It is hot, exotic, lush and full of colorful customs and odd superstitions. Everything is alien to him here but he is not hated or shunned for his faith the way he was in Venice. As a Jew he had been forced to live a harsh life behind the walls of the Ghetto. In Pegu there are many merchants there to trade and foreigners are required by local customs to perform certain duties. As Abraham stays on he becomes well respected and makes several friends and forms a romantic relationship. When their lives are threatened by the cruel treatment of the King and his soldiers, Abraham and his new friends must decide if it is safer to stay in their homes or flee. His adventures are told in letters home to his cousin and it's very well done. ( )

I was quickly sucked into this exotic novel, not having read about the area before, that I can recall. Although many reviewers seem annoyed by the "letter writing" method, I found it interesting, given the time and place (author: 16th Century Burma - recipient: Venice, Italy). The first 3/4 of the book was such a wonderful transport, interesting and educational regarding the region and people of the time. It was a great premise/idea, to put a Venetian Jew (a very segregated, denounced group of people) in a land where he at first considers the people "heathens" but quickly learns his freedom is much greater there ... and the people much kinder to him. His views change rapidly throughout his stay. There are also wonderful, spare reflections (both astute and seeming a little silly) on living with Buddhism and how it is applied to various situations. I loved the character Win, and also did care about Abraham and Mya. However, near the end, the last 1/4, it started to fizzle. The love story drags a bit (and is a little too sappy for my liking) and the war parts were rather dry and truncated. Overall, it's a quirky, interesting, fast-paced, short novel that I believe most readers would enjoy. Recommended. ( )