View our feature on Geraldine Books’s People of the Book.From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of March, the journey of a rare illuminated manuscript through centuries of exile and war In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. … rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—she begins to unlock the book’s mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book’s journey from its salvation back to its creation.
In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the book becomes a pawn in the struggle against the city’s rising anti-Semitism. In inquisition-era Venice, a Catholic priest saves it from burning. In Barcelona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text sees his family destroyed by the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah’s extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed. Hanna’s investigation unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics. Her experiences will test her belief in herself and the man she has come to love.
Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity, an ambitious, electrifying work by an acclaimed and beloved author.more
This writer had a unique way of presenting information revealed to a book conservator in her examination of an ancient Jewish book needing repairs, information that was very subtle ( an insect wing, a cat hair, etc.)but that she was able to discover using very creative methodology. The book was saved from destruction when almost all Jewish literature was being destroyed. Several people- many of whom were not Jewish or realized the book’s importance, went to great lengths to make sure the book should be preserved. We come to find out that even the way the book was created, illustrated, stored and passed along was unusual. This story is not just a history, but a mystery being revealed; a puzzle.
One of my favorite books. Well researched and beautifully written
I loved this book and the whole premise of weaving stories from different times as the history of the book unfolds. Engaging, romantic and captivating.
This book is like an onion – each chapter unwraps another aspect of the story.
A mixture of pathos, courage, loss, and determination links the stories together into a fascinating history. Good writing supports the compelling story of unforgettable characters. Highly recommend.
I am a fan of Geraldine Brooks, and this is one of my favorite books. Based on an actual book, a medieval Haggadah, it covers a lot of territory form events leading up to and including the Spanish Inquisition, to the Bosnian war, to the plight and artwork of Australian aborigines.
I love the way the author wove history into this vast story of an ancient Jewish manuscript.
Tantalizing. Takes the reader on a long journey thru time , history, and world peoples to figure out the whys, whos, and whens of its existence. Fascinating.
Very creative story telling.
An outstanding book! One to keep in your own library and buy another to share.
The Sarajevo Haggadah is one of the world’s rarest books, a tiny volume noted for its beautiful illustrations of the Jewish Passover ritual. It is several centuries old and has somehow come to rest in Sarajevo where it has twice been saved from certain destruction, once during World War II and once during the Balkan Wars in the 1990s. So far, this is all true.
People of the Book is Geraldine Brooks’s imaginative recreation of the haggadah’s history: how and by whom it was saved during World War II; how and under what circumstances it was created, changed hands and came to Sarajevo; how it would have been received when that city was still part of the vast, Hapsburg-ruled Austro-Hungarian empire. Brooks uses the known facts to support her stories: that the book was created Spain before the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 and that a Venice priest saved it from the flames of the Pope’s Inquisition in 1609 before it finally turned up in 1894 in Sarajevo. (Brooks helpfully explains her methods of building the story from these scant facts in a 2007 article from The New Yorker. Thanks, Clio, for originally pointing me to the link!)
While I was fascinated by this project, that is, the filling in of the historical blanks, I was less impressed with the final result. Too many characters in too little space for me to take even a surface-level interest in the fates of any of them. The main character is Hanna Heath an Australian rare books conservator whose discoveries – of a salt stain, a wine stain, an insect wing, and a white hair – lead to each historical interlude. Unfortunately, I found Hanna grating in the best of circumstances. My biggest gripe, as with Year of Wonders, is that the events at the end of the novel simply beggared belief. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the stories Brooks had constructed, they were utterly believable, which is as much – or more – than could be asked of a project of this scope.
My sense is that readers who really like Geraldine Brooks would like this People of the Book. It’s an interesting topic and Brooks comes to grips with her material very well.
(This review was originally published at http://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2015/02/people-of-book.html)
Beautifully written…one of the best novels I have ever read!
People of the Book offered a story that transcends our view of time, religion, tolerance, history and most importantly the value of books. Our 21st century book conservator, the Spanish Inquisition treatment of Jews, the perception of women and so much more captures the reader’s attention and informs us all. Best book I’ve read in some time.
This book will take you through the ages and keep you involved
One of my favorite books of all time! A beautiful, interesting, unpredictable historical novel.
Loved this!