People of the Book
by Geraldine Brooks
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Description
In 1996, Hanna Heath, a young Australian book conservator is called to analyze the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a priceless six-hundred-year-old Jewish prayer book that has been salvaged from a destroyed Bosnian library. When Hanna discovers a series of artifacts in the centuries' old binding, she unwittingly exposes an international cover up.Tags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
mrstreme Similar history of how museum workers scrambled to save pieces of art during wartime
71
whymaggiemay Both well written, and both follow an art object from end to beginning, through the hands of those who once owned it.
50
merry10 An imagined history of a 15th Century panel.
Eat_Read_Knit A very different style of book from a very different genre, but an interesting commentary on the corruption/misuse of religious faith which complements this book's treatment of the same theme.
43
oregonobsessionz This one may be a stretch, but anyone who read People of the Book for its historic and "books on books" aspects would probably enjoy The Book Nobody Read, a nonfiction account of an astronomer who seeks to account for all of the first and second editions of Copernicus' de Revolutionibus.
StarryNightElf Epic saga tracing the path of an object connected to those of Jewish descent.
11
darsaster Non-fiction examination of Medieval manuscripts and the people who created them.
Member Reviews
Summary: Hanna has devoted her life to the conservation and restoration of antique books and manuscripts, and she is good at what she does. But she still never expected to be called in to work on the Sarajevo Haggadah, a six-hundred-year-old Jewish prayer book that is lavishly illuminated in the style of Christian works from the time, and was saved during the bombing of Sarajevo by a Muslim museum curator. As Hanna works to examine and save this priceless artifact, she uncovers clues about its past, a past that took the haggadah to the encampments of World War II resistance fighters, to a Viennese doctor's office, the chambers of an agent of the Inquisition, to the Spanish expulsion of the Jews, all they way back to its creation.
Review: show more I didn't realize this when I picked this book up, but it employs one of my favorite literary devices: interweaving past and present storylines. In this case, as Hanna uncovers each trace of the past in the book, the story of the people involved throughout the book's history is told, unfolding backwards through time. I really liked the fact that this created a dual way of looking at the book. It's clear that Hanna's research alone doesn't tell her the full story, the way it is presented to the reader. So on the surface, Hanna's story is really just a frame for the stories of the book's history (although Hanna's story does have a plot of its own as well.) But on a deeper level, and one that grew in the back of my mind as I read, it's equally possible that the stories the book tells are not the real stories, that they are simply things Hanna is telling herself as a means of explaining how a specific insect wing wound up between the pages of the book, that the characters in this version are not really the real people of the book. Which, since the Sarajevo Haggadah is a real thing, much as Brooks describes it, means that of course the characters are made up... but that their counterparts did exist on some level. My favorite kind of history and art history is the consideration of the lives of the real people who interacted with an object or a place over the centuries, so this sort of speculation is unsurprisingly right up my alley.
So, I loved the story, and the way the plot was structured. I also thought Brooks did a very nice job with the characterization and the writing throughout. In particular, she did a very nice job of making each of her protagonists feel like a real individual with a unique voice. There were a few times when that voice, or a particular way of storytelling, was not my favorite, but that was more a feature of a particular character rather than the prose more generally, I think. In sum, I really enjoyed just about everything about this book, and am eagerly looking forward to reading more of Brooks's writing. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: The most obvious fiction read-alike that I can think of is Girl in Hyacinth Blue, although for non-fiction The Lost Painting is thematically really similar. In any case, recommended for fans of historical fiction (or historical fiction interwoven with contemporary fiction!) and/or anyone who has ever wondered about the vicissitudes of a single piece of art. show less
Review: show more I didn't realize this when I picked this book up, but it employs one of my favorite literary devices: interweaving past and present storylines. In this case, as Hanna uncovers each trace of the past in the book, the story of the people involved throughout the book's history is told, unfolding backwards through time. I really liked the fact that this created a dual way of looking at the book. It's clear that Hanna's research alone doesn't tell her the full story, the way it is presented to the reader. So on the surface, Hanna's story is really just a frame for the stories of the book's history (although Hanna's story does have a plot of its own as well.) But on a deeper level, and one that grew in the back of my mind as I read, it's equally possible that the stories the book tells are not the real stories, that they are simply things Hanna is telling herself as a means of explaining how a specific insect wing wound up between the pages of the book, that the characters in this version are not really the real people of the book. Which, since the Sarajevo Haggadah is a real thing, much as Brooks describes it, means that of course the characters are made up... but that their counterparts did exist on some level. My favorite kind of history and art history is the consideration of the lives of the real people who interacted with an object or a place over the centuries, so this sort of speculation is unsurprisingly right up my alley.
So, I loved the story, and the way the plot was structured. I also thought Brooks did a very nice job with the characterization and the writing throughout. In particular, she did a very nice job of making each of her protagonists feel like a real individual with a unique voice. There were a few times when that voice, or a particular way of storytelling, was not my favorite, but that was more a feature of a particular character rather than the prose more generally, I think. In sum, I really enjoyed just about everything about this book, and am eagerly looking forward to reading more of Brooks's writing. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: The most obvious fiction read-alike that I can think of is Girl in Hyacinth Blue, although for non-fiction The Lost Painting is thematically really similar. In any case, recommended for fans of historical fiction (or historical fiction interwoven with contemporary fiction!) and/or anyone who has ever wondered about the vicissitudes of a single piece of art. show less
For my tastes in story structure, Geraldine Brooks made the classic mistake of derailing the reader's attachment developing with the main character (Hanna) and what the first 40 or so pages of the book indicate is the primary story. While the interleaved accounts in alternating chapters developed the Haggadah's backstory, these stand alone narrative excursions interfered with the tension of the ongoing story, and were extreme flights of speculation. Had these sections been condensed with the novel, keeping a focus on the codex's conservation, the potential backstory of the Sarajevo Haggadah would have been more effective.
Amid the politics between museums, the narrative floundered around telling why the Sarajevo Haggadah acquired a show more reputation as a groundbreaking codex due to it being illustrated etc. etc. So why wouldn't the story open with this aspect as a theme and tell the reader about the earlier travels and mysteries of the codex? Then the main 'present-day' tale could move forward seamlessly as part of the historical back story of the people who possessed the book through time (but more condensed with the the narrative of Hanna and her involvement)?
While Brooks apparently had a different agenda for her story, the published work came across as a meandering mishmash, with no real connections flowing between the changing story focus. The final letdown was the last six years of Hanna's life condensed out of the blue and then she's snatched back into the drama around the Haggadah in the final chapters. This last section was like reading a totally different book, especially since I was left with a sense of a rushed but fizzled completion. show less
Amid the politics between museums, the narrative floundered around telling why the Sarajevo Haggadah acquired a show more reputation as a groundbreaking codex due to it being illustrated etc. etc. So why wouldn't the story open with this aspect as a theme and tell the reader about the earlier travels and mysteries of the codex? Then the main 'present-day' tale could move forward seamlessly as part of the historical back story of the people who possessed the book through time (but more condensed with the the narrative of Hanna and her involvement)?
While Brooks apparently had a different agenda for her story, the published work came across as a meandering mishmash, with no real connections flowing between the changing story focus. The final letdown was the last six years of Hanna's life condensed out of the blue and then she's snatched back into the drama around the Haggadah in the final chapters. This last section was like reading a totally different book, especially since I was left with a sense of a rushed but fizzled completion. show less
How precious is a book? How far would you go to protect a book, to defend it, and to empower the message it holds?
'People of the Book' is a historical novel by Geraldine Brooks. It has an original plot, and is studded with memorable, deep characters. In many ways, it specifically targets book lovers.
The characters in Brooks' novel went as far as giving up everything in the name of one book, the Sarajevo Haggadah. Across several centuries and countries, the heroes of the book suffered, bled, and died in its name. These heroes were librarians, men of faith, artists, military, heirs, and villagers. What united them is their unwavering love for their neighbor.
The universal message brought by this beautifully written book is one that is much show more needed today, that of celebrating humanity in all of its colors. Different cultures, races, and religions have grown fearful of one another as if this earth can only contain one supreme color. Just like in the historical periods depicted by Brooks, people keep fighting and struggling against one another out of fear of the other, fear of what is different. Brooks offers an alternative to that xenophobic irrational and destructive fear: unity. Once united, humans can lend a helping hand and offer healing warmth.
The Haggadah traveled a long way across the globe, and learned the stories of many different people who kept it for a certain time. As these stories intertwine, and as the events unfold, the Haggadah becomes bigger than just a simple Jewish prayer book, it becomes the symbol of all sacrifices, sufferings, and hopes of humanity.
My favorite parts in the story were the dynamics between the characters, especially Hanna and her mother, and how at the beginning Hanna handled the book. I enjoyed finding out the missing pieces about the book's journey as new clues surfaced. The ending was very satisfying. I recommend this book to everybody. show less
'People of the Book' is a historical novel by Geraldine Brooks. It has an original plot, and is studded with memorable, deep characters. In many ways, it specifically targets book lovers.
The characters in Brooks' novel went as far as giving up everything in the name of one book, the Sarajevo Haggadah. Across several centuries and countries, the heroes of the book suffered, bled, and died in its name. These heroes were librarians, men of faith, artists, military, heirs, and villagers. What united them is their unwavering love for their neighbor.
The universal message brought by this beautifully written book is one that is much show more needed today, that of celebrating humanity in all of its colors. Different cultures, races, and religions have grown fearful of one another as if this earth can only contain one supreme color. Just like in the historical periods depicted by Brooks, people keep fighting and struggling against one another out of fear of the other, fear of what is different. Brooks offers an alternative to that xenophobic irrational and destructive fear: unity. Once united, humans can lend a helping hand and offer healing warmth.
The Haggadah traveled a long way across the globe, and learned the stories of many different people who kept it for a certain time. As these stories intertwine, and as the events unfold, the Haggadah becomes bigger than just a simple Jewish prayer book, it becomes the symbol of all sacrifices, sufferings, and hopes of humanity.
My favorite parts in the story were the dynamics between the characters, especially Hanna and her mother, and how at the beginning Hanna handled the book. I enjoyed finding out the missing pieces about the book's journey as new clues surfaced. The ending was very satisfying. I recommend this book to everybody. show less
In a year in which I've been more than usually lucky in finding wonderful books to read, I add this one to the list. Geraldine Brooks is a fantastic writer; the scope of her learnedness and the emotive excellence of her writing make her an author to seek out. People of the Book is the third book I've read by her this year, and the time I've spent reading her novels was time well and happily spent.
The Book that the title refers to is a Haggadah, which is a book guiding the Passover Seder: a learning and cultural experience in addition to being a good meal. It tells the story of the first Passover, when the angel of death spares the Hebrews. In the novel, the Haggadah is written on parchment and wonderfully illuminated in a manner more show more reminiscent of an illustrated Christian prayer book, than a Jewish tome of any sort.
The crux of the story follows Hanna, a highly skilled and sought after repairer and appraiser of books. She has been asked to fix a somewhat damaged Haggadah, and her eagle eye spots little trinkets in it that help along the knowledge base of this prized work. She finds a white hair, part of a moth's wing, a few grains of salt, and an interesting stain. All of them take us into the various stories of the book's history. Brooks takes us to medieval Spain, to 17th century Venice, among other times and places, and shows us the passage of the Haggadah through time.
The book is incredibly intelligent, and I must admit that it made me sad. I could have had a life like Hanna's, a doctorate, a fascinating job, international respect. I have the brains, but the brain also sported severe mental illness, and now I am an unemployed sixtiesh woman, dependent on the kindness of others. This book hit hard in the "could have beens".
It's a remarkable book that I'm glad I've read. I gave it four stars because there was torture in the scenes of medieval Spain, which I cannot tolerate, and because it made me feel bad about myself (entirely unintentionally), which I did not enjoy. Still, it gave me a few days of great reading pleasure. show less
The Book that the title refers to is a Haggadah, which is a book guiding the Passover Seder: a learning and cultural experience in addition to being a good meal. It tells the story of the first Passover, when the angel of death spares the Hebrews. In the novel, the Haggadah is written on parchment and wonderfully illuminated in a manner more show more reminiscent of an illustrated Christian prayer book, than a Jewish tome of any sort.
The crux of the story follows Hanna, a highly skilled and sought after repairer and appraiser of books. She has been asked to fix a somewhat damaged Haggadah, and her eagle eye spots little trinkets in it that help along the knowledge base of this prized work. She finds a white hair, part of a moth's wing, a few grains of salt, and an interesting stain. All of them take us into the various stories of the book's history. Brooks takes us to medieval Spain, to 17th century Venice, among other times and places, and shows us the passage of the Haggadah through time.
The book is incredibly intelligent, and I must admit that it made me sad. I could have had a life like Hanna's, a doctorate, a fascinating job, international respect. I have the brains, but the brain also sported severe mental illness, and now I am an unemployed sixtiesh woman, dependent on the kindness of others. This book hit hard in the "could have beens".
It's a remarkable book that I'm glad I've read. I gave it four stars because there was torture in the scenes of medieval Spain, which I cannot tolerate, and because it made me feel bad about myself (entirely unintentionally), which I did not enjoy. Still, it gave me a few days of great reading pleasure. show less
As an archivist, I have to say, thank goodness someone writing about libraries/archives/museums actually sat down and learned a bit about how we do our work before writing about it. If I have to read another book in which pages are ripped out of centuries old documents or thousand year old scrolls are kept in a glass bookcase in a cave in Ireland, I'm going to scream. But Brooks actually seemed to know what she was talking about. The fact that Hanna was -far- too young to be that advanced in the profession (a fact I simply chalked up to her over-privileged upbringing granting her opportunities to take risks and get experience the rest of us can only dream of - rant for another day) aside, she read like a real conservator and I show more appreciated that.
The historical background stories were also interesting. In some ways, they were more compelling than Hanna's own dramas. I'm sure if Hanna herself were a real person, though, she would agree with that assessment.
I must admit I found the ending a touch rushed and implausible, but I'm willing to forgive it because I wanted more than anything for Hanna to find that signature and that's all that really matters. show less
The historical background stories were also interesting. In some ways, they were more compelling than Hanna's own dramas. I'm sure if Hanna herself were a real person, though, she would agree with that assessment.
I must admit I found the ending a touch rushed and implausible, but I'm willing to forgive it because I wanted more than anything for Hanna to find that signature and that's all that really matters. show less
A fictional story about the very real Sarajevo Haggadah, an early Jewish seder book, rare and priceless in that it was very finely made and included illustrations (haggadahs are usually boring and utilitarian, my Gentile friends, and nearly no Jewish books were illustrated because for a very long time that was taboo, much as most Muslims consider images of the prophet Mohammad, PBUH, to be false idolatry). It tells how the book was created, where various stains and markings on the book come from, and how the book came to be bound in it’s current form, not to mention how it survived the Bosnian War, rescued many times over by people of all faiths, sometimes for good reasons, sometimes not so much (one story line involves a very show more alcoholic Vatican priest and a Rabbi with a severe gambling problem). The main plot, if you will, is about the woman restoring the book in the present day, who reminds me very much of Temperance Brennan, played by Emily Deschanel of Bones fame. But, for as into this book as I may be, it does get very heavy and dark at times, and I had to put it away for a while because I was absolutely overcome by one of the stories of persecution of the Jews during the Inquisition. There’s a particularly graphic depiction of a form of torture which involves making a person swallow a very long piece of linen inch by inch and then pulling it back out of them, and I had to take a breather. That surprised me. I’m usually very okay with violence and horror and just god-awful gore and nonsense, but that was a bit much. On the whole, I'm okay with that, but it's definitely a book to take your time with.
This book is absolutely brimming with strong female characters. For all of the pain and torment most of them have suffered, the female protagonists seem to be the strongest, most noble characters one could hope to come across in such a text. They are not perfect by any means, and often they allow themselves to be weak, but that’s what makes them strong, in the end.
The book is inspiring. The sheer coming together of religions for a common cause, even though (or perhaps more because) it was completely a non-issue to those involved in the rescue of the book, the displays honesty, of respect, and of understanding are really an inspiration. Even if all of the characters are fictional, the journey the book took, the number of times it had to be saved, is fact. It really happened. So whether or not the events went down exactly as Ms. Brooks speculated or not is only half of the story.
It’s simply amazingly well-written. It switches easily, un-jarringly between main character Hanna Heath’s first-person slang-laden Australian internal dialogue to other POVs, sometimes third person, sometimes first. It doesn’t interrupt the story at all, and actually serves to enhance it. Point of view is something I’m really sensitive toward in books, so the fact that this didn’t throw me off or even bother me at all is a tribute to its fluidity. In addition, Hanna’s internal narrative, when situations allow it to be, is absolutely hilarious, drawing away (but not discounting) some of the darkness from more heavy sections before and after her internal monologue.
I have to be honest: I picked up this book because the cover had glitter on it (oh don’t even pretend you’ve never done the same thing) and it ended up being one of my favorite books in 2010 so far.
(More books at http://paperclippe.com !) show less
This book is absolutely brimming with strong female characters. For all of the pain and torment most of them have suffered, the female protagonists seem to be the strongest, most noble characters one could hope to come across in such a text. They are not perfect by any means, and often they allow themselves to be weak, but that’s what makes them strong, in the end.
The book is inspiring. The sheer coming together of religions for a common cause, even though (or perhaps more because) it was completely a non-issue to those involved in the rescue of the book, the displays honesty, of respect, and of understanding are really an inspiration. Even if all of the characters are fictional, the journey the book took, the number of times it had to be saved, is fact. It really happened. So whether or not the events went down exactly as Ms. Brooks speculated or not is only half of the story.
It’s simply amazingly well-written. It switches easily, un-jarringly between main character Hanna Heath’s first-person slang-laden Australian internal dialogue to other POVs, sometimes third person, sometimes first. It doesn’t interrupt the story at all, and actually serves to enhance it. Point of view is something I’m really sensitive toward in books, so the fact that this didn’t throw me off or even bother me at all is a tribute to its fluidity. In addition, Hanna’s internal narrative, when situations allow it to be, is absolutely hilarious, drawing away (but not discounting) some of the darkness from more heavy sections before and after her internal monologue.
I have to be honest: I picked up this book because the cover had glitter on it (oh don’t even pretend you’ve never done the same thing) and it ended up being one of my favorite books in 2010 so far.
(More books at http://paperclippe.com !) show less
Finishing this and [b:Shadow Without a Name|9695|Shadow Without a Name|Ignacio Padilla|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1311985588l/9695._SX50_.jpg|12497] in the same week leads to inevitable comparison. The structure of focusing on multiple people is the deftest way to tell the story of a war or an artifact, the best way to give a story two literal meanings: it is about this thing/world war/haggadah by way of being about these specific people. This is reminiscent of the long volumes we honor: the Bible, the Histories. There’s something about the structure itself which can make other books about individual people seem narcissistic. Your life, your book might be about one person, but there’s a lot show more you miss that way.
After that, I’m hesitant to look too closely at this individual book. (Oh, the irony.) It was unfair to make those comparisons to the Bible and the Histories in that first paragraph. This is a modern novel by a modern novelist, entirely different. It’s a fantastic premise: rare book conservator Hanna Heath becomes obsessed with the past of a famous volume, the Sarajevo haggadah, and the reader gets the real stories behind details she uncovers. The dramas of these historical novelettes are balanced by the sudden amplification of the modern protagonist’s book-related arc at the end. One of Brooks’ strengths as a historic novelist is her ability to research thoroughly and to write this research into her fiction so seamlessly that her worlds and characters come alive without feeling dead or inauthentic.
The problem of this book is the likability of the main narrator, Hanna. Her problems are significant, her life full of drama and travel, and yet she did not become truly interesting until the last segment of the book. The choices she makes, the reactions she has in that section seem more in line with the stakes of those who made and preserved the haggadah.
But books don’t owe us the experience we expect from modern novels, which seems at the moment rather predictable. A book can be good without enthralling us every second, without forcing us to like, relate to, or hate the narrator. Though Hanna is presented to us as a steely and curmudgeonly conservator, sure of herself and her skills, her arc in this book is one of maturation. Her choices and relationships in the first parts of the book are immature, a foil to the other characters involved with the haggadah. The most interesting parts of her sections were the physical explanations of the book itself, the luxury of looking closely at an object as it’s seen by an expert who can explain everything. And giving the reader a “true” story of how these came to be without revealing that to the expert was a brilliant strategic move.
Hanna is bad at being glue. As a modern reader I expected her to tie everything together, to discover everything, to be a singular hero. This was a dumb expectation, and I think I may be getting complacent. The book isn’t about Hanna at all; it’s about the book. Like everyone else who was a part of the book, she’s not more or less of its story for anything she had or lacked. Her expertise showed her the value in the book the same way others could see the art in the illustrations, the delicacy of the silversmithing involved. For her, the book was a very valuable artifact; for others it was leverage, or a religious item, and these change how the characters relate to the book, but none of them change the book itself except through the characters’ actions. Hanna’s skills and shortcomings alternately healed and put the book in danger, just like all the others’ had. She got more air time, but she ultimately wasn’t any more or less important to the haggadah’s fate.
What Brooks is exploring, as far as I can tell, is the relation that people have to a common reality, and if there is such a thing as a common reality, what that might be. Presented with the same book, all the characters who interact with it do so on the basis of their own beliefs, their own need for money or leverage or religious security, and they recognize different things in it. The veracity and location of it are constantly in question. Ultimately, a single entirely true history of the haggadah is impossible—and probably less important than the relations, histories, and discoveries of those who have held it. show less
After that, I’m hesitant to look too closely at this individual book. (Oh, the irony.) It was unfair to make those comparisons to the Bible and the Histories in that first paragraph. This is a modern novel by a modern novelist, entirely different. It’s a fantastic premise: rare book conservator Hanna Heath becomes obsessed with the past of a famous volume, the Sarajevo haggadah, and the reader gets the real stories behind details she uncovers. The dramas of these historical novelettes are balanced by the sudden amplification of the modern protagonist’s book-related arc at the end. One of Brooks’ strengths as a historic novelist is her ability to research thoroughly and to write this research into her fiction so seamlessly that her worlds and characters come alive without feeling dead or inauthentic.
The problem of this book is the likability of the main narrator, Hanna. Her problems are significant, her life full of drama and travel, and yet she did not become truly interesting until the last segment of the book. The choices she makes, the reactions she has in that section seem more in line with the stakes of those who made and preserved the haggadah.
But books don’t owe us the experience we expect from modern novels, which seems at the moment rather predictable. A book can be good without enthralling us every second, without forcing us to like, relate to, or hate the narrator. Though Hanna is presented to us as a steely and curmudgeonly conservator, sure of herself and her skills, her arc in this book is one of maturation. Her choices and relationships in the first parts of the book are immature, a foil to the other characters involved with the haggadah. The most interesting parts of her sections were the physical explanations of the book itself, the luxury of looking closely at an object as it’s seen by an expert who can explain everything. And giving the reader a “true” story of how these came to be without revealing that to the expert was a brilliant strategic move.
Hanna is bad at being glue. As a modern reader I expected her to tie everything together, to discover everything, to be a singular hero. This was a dumb expectation, and I think I may be getting complacent. The book isn’t about Hanna at all; it’s about the book. Like everyone else who was a part of the book, she’s not more or less of its story for anything she had or lacked. Her expertise showed her the value in the book the same way others could see the art in the illustrations, the delicacy of the silversmithing involved. For her, the book was a very valuable artifact; for others it was leverage, or a religious item, and these change how the characters relate to the book, but none of them change the book itself except through the characters’ actions. Hanna’s skills and shortcomings alternately healed and put the book in danger, just like all the others’ had. She got more air time, but she ultimately wasn’t any more or less important to the haggadah’s fate.
What Brooks is exploring, as far as I can tell, is the relation that people have to a common reality, and if there is such a thing as a common reality, what that might be. Presented with the same book, all the characters who interact with it do so on the basis of their own beliefs, their own need for money or leverage or religious security, and they recognize different things in it. The veracity and location of it are constantly in question. Ultimately, a single entirely true history of the haggadah is impossible—and probably less important than the relations, histories, and discoveries of those who have held it. show less
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ThingScore 83
While peering through a microscope at a rime of salt crystals on the manuscript of the Haggadah, Hanna reflects that “the gold beaters, the stone grinders, the scribes, the binders” are “the people I feel most comfortable with. Sometimes in the quiet these people speak to me.” Though the reader’s sense of Hanna’s relationship with the Haggadah rarely deepens to such a level, show more Geraldine Brooks’s certainly has. show less
added by DieFledermaus
Brooks' novel meticulously, lovingly amalgamates mystery and history with the personal story of its heroine, rare-book expert and conservator Hanna Heath.
added by DieFledermaus
If Brooks becomes the new patron saint of booksellers, she deserves it. The stories of the Sarajevo Haggadah, both factual and fictional, are stirring testaments to the people of many faiths who risked all to save this priceless work.
added by DieFledermaus
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Geraldine Brooks is the author of two acclaimed works of nonfiction, "Nine Parts of Desire" and "Foreign Correspondence." A former war correspondent, her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. (Publisher Provided) Geraldine Brooks was born in Sydney, Australia on September 14, 1955. She show more attended Bethlehem College Ashfield and the University of Sydney. She worked as a feature writer with a special interest in environmental issues for The Sydney Morning Herald for three years. In 1982, she won the Greg Shackleton Australian News Correspondents scholarship to the journalism master's program at Columbia University in New York City. She later worked for The Wall Street Journal, where she covered the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans. She has written both fiction and non-fiction books including Year of Wonders, Nine Parts of Desire, and The Secret Chord. She has won several awards including the Nita Kibble Literary Award for Foreign Correspondence, the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 2006 for March, the New England Book Award for Fiction and the Christianity Today Book Award for Caleb's Crossing, and the Australian Book of the Year Award and the Australian Literary Fiction Award in 2008 for People of the Book. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards
Distinctions
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Belongs to Publisher Series
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Has as a student's study guide
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- People of the Book
- Original title
- People of the Book
- Original publication date
- 2008 (1e édition originale américaine, Viking Penguin) (1e édition originale américaine, Viking Penguin); 2008-08-14 (1e traduction et édition française, Belfond) (1e traduction et édition française, Belfond)
- People/Characters
- Hanna Heath; Ozren Karaman; Lola; Serif Kamal; Stela Kamal; Amitai Yomtov (show all 24); Werner Heinrich; Razmus Kanaha; Dr. Franz Hirschfeldt; Florien Mittl; Giovanni Domenico Vistorini; Judah Aryeh; Dr. Sarah Heath; David Ben Shoushan; Ruti Ben Shoushan 'Ruth'; Joseph Ben Shoushan; Reuben Ben Shoushan / Renato del Salvador; Rosa del Salvador; Zahra bint Ibrahim al-Tarek 'al-Mora'; Amalie Sutter; Isak; Ina; Reyna de Serena; Aaron Sharansky
- Important places
- Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia; Australia; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Granada, Andalusia, Spain; Jerusalem; London, England, UK (show all 13); Massachusetts, USA; Northern Territory, Australia; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Seville, Andalusia, Spain; Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain; Venice, Veneto, Italy; Vienna, Austria
- Important events
- World War II (1939-1945); Bosnian War (1992-1995); Holocaust; Expulsion of the Jews in Spain
- Epigraph
- There, where one burns books,
one in the end, burns men.
-- Heinrich Heine - Dedication
- For the librarians
- First words
- I might as well say, right from the jump: it wasn't my usual kind of job. -Hanna, Sarajevo, Spring 1996
- Quotations
- The words stuck to his tongue like...the ashes that had fallen in a warm rain after the last book burning.
I wanted to give a sense of the people of the book, the different hands that had made it, used it, protected it. I wanted it to be a gripping narrative, even suspenseful.
Amitai's voice suddenly seemed a bit husky. “Can you imagine, Channa? A Muslim, risking his neck to save a Jewish book.”
But a haggadah is used only at home. The word is from the Hebrew root ngd, “to tell,” and it comes from the biblical command that instructs parents to tell their children the story of the Exodus.
“I've always kind of admired Sarajevans for being so surprised by the war,” I said. It had seemed the rational response to me. Who wouldn't be in a state of denial when your next-door neighbor suddenly starts shooting at ... (show all)you, casually and without remorse, like you're some kind of unwanted introduced species, the way the farmers at home eradicate rabbits.
Of course, you don't have to be stupid and primitive to die a stupid, primitive death.
Anti-Semitism has never been part of our lives in Sarajevo. Look where the synagogue is: between the mosque and the Orthodox church. I'm sorry, but Palestine is the Arabs' home, not yours. Certainly not mine.
“That you, Muslims, should help a Jew—” “Come now!” Serif said, realizing that she was about to cry. “Jews and Muslims are cousins, the descendants of Abraham.
Reading incomplete French words backward was tricky.
Kaddish had always been one of Aryeh's favorite prayers—the prayer for the dead that did not mention death, or grief, or loss, but only life and glory and peace. The prayer that turned its face away from burial plots and mo... (show all)ldering remains and set its eyes on the firmament: “May a great peace from heaven—and life!—be upon us and upon all Israel, and say all, amen! May he who makes peace in his high places make peace upon us and all Israel, and say all, amen!”
“Well, from what you've told me, the book has survived the same human disaster over and over again. Think about it. You've got a society where people tolerate difference, like Spain in the Convivencia, and everything's humm... (show all)ing along: creative, prosperous. Then somehow this fear, this hate, this need to demonize ‘the other'—it just sort of rears up and smashes the whole society. Inquisition, Nazis, extremist Serb nationalists…same old, same old. It seems to me the book, at this point, bears witness to all that.”
The door opened on a dozen or so loud voices, all talking at once. Someone handed me vodka in a shot glass. Somehow, I hadn't pictured shivah like this. I guess that was the Russian part of Russian Jewish.
The art world in England is an absolute magnet for the second sons of threadbare lords, or women named Annabelle Something-hyphen-Something who dress in black leggings and burnt orange cashmeres and smell faintly of wet Labra... (show all)dor.
The wishes and desires of the powerful can be fickle things. I knew this. But I knew it in that deep place where one hides knowledge that is inconvenient, or too painful to admit, even to oneself.
I have spent many nights, lying awake here in this room, thinking that the haggadah came to Sarajevo for a reason. It was here to test us, to see if there were people who could see that what united us was more than what divid... (show all)ed us. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)This time, I didn't pull away.
- Publisher's editor
- Stern, Molly
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 823.914
- Canonical LCC
- PR9619.3.B7153
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 11,059
- Popularity
- 866
- Reviews
- 522
- Rating
- (3.93)
- Languages
- 15 — Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian (Bokmål), Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil)
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 76
- ASINs
- 20