People of the Book: A Novel
by Geraldine Brooks
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Book Summary Information
Author: Geraldine BrooksEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-01
ISBN: 067001821X
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Viking Adult
Book Reviews of People of the Book: A Novel
Book Review: Page turning story of a book
Summary: 5 Stars
The book of the title is a real book, the Haggadah of Sarajevo, a rare medieval illustrated Jewish prayer book. The people in question are those who have had contact with the book in some way or another throughout its history. The story begins with a phonecall to a rare book expert, Hanna, asking her to conserve the ancient book which, remarkably, has survived the ravages of war in that city. Through her expertise, we learn much about the processes by which such a book is made, how the various colours are created and so on. But it is through the stories of the other people of the book, those who have had contact with it during its journey through time, that we truly learn the book's full story. The novel is written with the stories from the past interspersed with Hanna's story of her research and her own past, and the action takes place in a range of places - Sarajevo, Vienna, Barcelona, Boston, Seville, Israel and Australia. There are some lovely evocative passages about these places and the stories of the individual people are compelling, poignant and often very sad.
What the stories show is the interconnectedness of the 'peoples of the book' in its usual sense - the Jews, Muslims and Christians who all had a part to play in its story and in its survival.
I found this to be a really interesting read. The moving between the different stories worked well, and Hanna's research held the story as a whole together effectively. Of course, she is another of the People of the Book herself and her story of her relationship with it, just the most recent chapter in the book's story.
If you like books about books, or if the troubled History of Europe's people, particularly the Jews and Muslims who have contributed so much, then I'm sure you will enjoy this as much as I did. It is a real page-turner, and I found it very difficult to put down until I had finished.
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