People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of People of the Book: A Novel
Book Review: A good read but disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
This was a good read but a disappointment after reading March and The Wonder Years. The historical fiction was awesome but the use of the modern day character Hannah weakened the structure of the novel. I'd only recommend it to someone interested in Jewish history.Book Review: My Name is Red, Redux
Summary: 2 Stars
I don't altogether like reviews (or reviewers) that knock books down from their cultural ledges for lack of creativity. But a tale of an ancient manuscript, interspersed with the accounts of inanimate smudges on its pages or the history of objects used in its creation -- if it sounds intriguing, try checking out Orhan Pamuk's narrative masterpiece, My Name is Red. Written twenty years earlier, Pamuk's work is, to my mind, more suspenseful and more artfully done, too, than this one here. It makes me wonder whether the Pulitzer Prize is trying to play catch up to Pamuk's outstanding international appeal, most of which is decades ahead of our own.Book Review: Good, but could have been so much better...
Summary: 3 Stars
For me, one of life's greatest frustrations is a book that could have been great--but wasn't.
"People of the Book" fits this description. Hanna's story is good, and the first vignettte of the Haggadah--set in 1940s Bosnia--is excellent. After that, it goes downhill. Each of the next four stories of the book are potentially great reading, but the author sabotages them with an excess of what I can only call "ugliness."
Granted, each was set in profoundly ugly times. I have no objection to the author's decision to show the horrors of the Inquisition up close (although I skipped most of those passages.) Ms. Brooks' mistake was to make her fictional characters behave as badly as the times they lived in. From the alcoholic priest and gambling addicted rabbi in Venice to the two women who lost their families to the Spanish Inquisiton, the author constantly chose to have people turn on each other rather than help each other, when a simple does of human decency could have redeemd the entire storyline.
If I want to get depressed, I'll read non-fiction. Fiction should at least have moments when people rise above the ugliness around them, not contribute to it.
I also agree with the previous poster who said the last chapter was like something out of Mission Impossible; totally ridiculas.
Book Review: Speaks Eloquently to the Greatest issues of Our Times
Summary: 5 Stars
Inspired by her experiences as a journalist in Sarajevo, Geraldine Brooks breathes life into the history of a rare illustrated Hebrew manuscript, the Sarajevo Haggadah.
People of the Book spans centuries and continents to follow the guardians of the Haggadah as they flee war and persecution, often with little but the clothes on their back and their precious artifact. Muslims, Catholics, Jews and atheists take their turns defending the art, literature and culture encompassed in the small, fragile volume.
The religions that set The People of the Book apart have their common roots in the pictures and stories in the Haggadah. Every event in the novel resonates with our news today, as cultural treasures, individuals and ethnic groups are being destroyed by the same ancient divisions and hatreds, and the same greed for power and wealth that endangered the book and its keepers over hundreds of years.
A story of manuscript conservation and scientific inquiry which could easily be dry and boring vibrates with energy and life in this unforgettable novel. The people of the book are fascinating characters living in interesting times and their lives are relevant to ours, their choices and decisions speak to the greatest issues of our times.
Book Review: Librarians can have rollicking adventures too.
Summary: 5 Stars
Who'd have thought that the story of a book conservator would makes such a fascinating, often harrowing novel? Obviously, Geraldine Brooks did and what a great story she has contrived! Vaguely DA VINCI CODE-esque, but more lavishly and precisely detailed, PEOPLE OF THE BOOK rivets the reader as the pages fly by much too quickly. There is international intrigue, but also tender romance, fierce and uncompromising violence (often upclose and personal). Her characters vibrate and resonate with humanity in all its foible-filled veracity. The book is chocked full of the conservator's process and procedures and stunningly written history. One of the most gripping tales in many years. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys intellectual intrigue and romping good storytelling.