The Books of Rachel

I loved this book. It’s the story of a Jewish family of diamond merchants, ranging all over the world, from the 15th century to the 20th. It centers on a particular white diamond, always owned by a woman named Rachel. When one Rachel dies, the next girl born in the family is named Rachel and given the diamond. Every Rachel deals with the same questions of Jewish identity, assimilation and persecution, although they do it in very different settings. Every story stands beautifully on its own, and together they are particularly compelling.

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The Books of Rachel by Joel Gross is a saga traversing centuries, following the Cuheno / Ha-Cohen / Cohen / Cohn family of diamond dealers, who pass a diamond to daughters all named Rachel. Mr. Gross is a writer, playwright and screenwriter.

The novel fictionalizes 500 years of Jewish history from the 15th Century starting at a Jewish family being torn apart by the Spanish Inquisition to ones being destroyed by the Nazis. The first born daughter to the family is named Rachel, inheriting a precious heirloom in the form of a diamond.The novel fictionalizes 500 years of Jewish history from the 15th Century starting at a Jewish family being torn apart by the Spanish show more Inquisition to ones being destroyed by the Nazis. The first born daughter to the family is named Rachel, inheriting a precious heirloom in the form of a diamond.

In The Books of Rachel by Joel Gross writes a series of short novellas all loosely connected through some sort of distant family relations, a name (Rachel), and a family heirloom in the form of a diamond which passes to the Rachels. The novel travels through Jewish history, at times when Jews were oppressed, as seen through the eyes of each Rachel.

I really liked the aspect of a family heirloom being passed down for generations, I didn’t enjoy the depiction of Jews as diamond traders across generations. Frankly, I have no idea if there are families who have been in the diamond business for generations, but in this book Jews are either rich diamond merchants or poor beggars.

I did enjoy much of the story, the last section bored me to be honest, and the historical references. While the author chose to err on the side of the narrative, that is sometimes expected from historical fiction. That being said, historical accuracy, for me, makes these types of stories much more enjoyable. Historical accuracy is what make a novel historical fiction rather than a fictional story taking place in the past.

The author does not shy away from describing atrocities during that his characters suffered, so those with a weak stomach are warned. However, those parts can easily be skipped so it’s not really a problem.

If all you know of Jewish history is the Bible or your World War II classes in school, this book attempts to fill in some of the gaps. The author also makes an excellent attempt to describe the lives of Jews in the past, including social hierarchy, traditions, as well as rituals. He doesn’t explain them, that was how things were and that’s that, maybe he tries to justify them as seen through the eyes of the people living them which I thought was a great addition to the story. show less

The Romans pronounced the death sentence on Jesus - as was ordained. Yet, the Jews since that time have carried the blame for it. In a series of storied focussing on a girl called Rachel, the author portrays some of the struggles faced by the Jews, in Spain, Venice, the Middle East, Germany and England. Connecting these Rachels is a diamond that is passed on a new born Rachel when the former Rachel dies.
It's not a beautiful story, and there are few happy endings. The violence and sexuality quite brutal at times.
Not sure I enjoyed reading it, and I would not put it high on my list to read again. Having said that I am now reading the companion book, the Lives of Rachel.
I read this as a eBook, and its a pity that the formatting was not show more optimal. show less

I read this book about 10 years ago and I loved it. I then forgot about it for years and it took some amount of work for me to be able to find it again.

The Books of Rachel didn't hold me nearly as captive as it did the first time around, but its still a nice read. I would definitely recommend it as a good vacation book. It is a bit sad, but leaves you with hope and it doesn't require you to over use you brain.

I really have no idea what this book is all about. I just got this from my deceased uncle's collection of books. When i first saw it, the cover page is not that attractive to me and the quality of paper shows that it is really old. But then the title itself pulls me to read about it. I kinda envy the character from the book because of her great bravery strength to fight for the Jews. Well i often wish i could have the same courage like her to fight for her will.

The Books of Rachel is a fictional microcosm of 500 years of Jewish history. Since the 15th century, in the Cuheno family, the first daughter born to the family is given the name Rachel and a heritage of faith and courage as precious as the family diamond. A saga sweeping from the Spanish Inquisition to the birth of a Jewish homeland.

Picked this up somewhere and thought I'd read it, but once I started, I realized I read it eons ago. While I remember it as interesting, I didn't feel like I wanted to read it again.