People of the Book
Ratings65
Average rating4.1
Excellent read.
As i write this review it was a very weird week in the world. There is a school board in Tennessee that banned the book Maus which is about the holocaust in WWII. It was also Holocaust Remembrance Day this week. I did not know when I picked up this book it was about anti-semitism through the ages. As a novel it is not overly dramatic in that sense but it does bring about what has happened in the past.
The author writes in the novel “That to be a human being matters more than to be a Jew or a Muslim, Catholic or Orthodox.” I feel this is the heart of the book. It is a book about being a human and treating everyone with respect.
Another reason I loved the book is that I am one of those people who go into museums and think about the person who made an item and how it was used. Just trying to imagine what the item meant to people even if it was just a tool. I feel that in this book. It is the story of a book and the people who lived around the book. Very imaginative and full of life.
I cannot recommend this book enough.
Excellent read.
As i write this review it was a very weird week in the world. There is a school board in Tennessee that banned the book Maus which is about the holocaust in WWII. It was also Holocaust Remembrance Day this week. I did not know when I picked up this book it was about anti-semitism through the ages. As a novel it is not overly dramatic in that sense but it does bring about what has happened in the past.
The author writes in the novel “That to be a human being matters more than to be a Jew or a Muslim, Catholic or Orthodox.” I feel this is the heart of the book. It is a book about being a human and treating everyone with respect.
Another reason I loved the book is that I am one of those people who go into museums and think about the person who made an item and how it was used. Just trying to imagine what the item meant to people even if it was just a tool. I feel that in this book. It is the story of a book and the people who lived around the book. Very imaginative and full of life.
I cannot recommend this book enough.
My only criticisms are of 1) the love story with the museum librarian within the first 50 pages and 2) the big paternity reveal after a car crash. Both would have been perfect for a daytime soap-opera but were beneath the rest of this beautifully researched and written novel.
A rich historical novel that weaves together a series of stories about people whose lives were woven into the history of extant Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the oldest surviving Jewish illuminated texts.
I was completely engrossed in this book until the last 100 pages or so. I liked the structure of a contemporary story framing the imagined history of the Sarajevo haggadah, and how in some ways the contemporary story was quite similar to the past stories. I liked the way Brooks was able to imagine the unknown (and probably impossible to know) history into details of people's lives–people who lived and suffered through disaster while they were focused on ordinary concerns. The end of the book was disappointing, though. The contemporary story took a turn for the unnecessarily dramatic and started seeming more like a Hollywood thriller than a story about real people. Still, I am now a confirmed fan of Geraldine Brooks.
Loved it. Geraldine Brooks is officially one of my favorite authors. Her excellent story telling skills and her special brand of historical fiction has brought a wide array of topics to life for me.
Short Review: I really had no idea what this book was about. I like to read fiction books without even reading the blurbs when I have someone that I trust recommend them to me. This is a historical novel tracing the history of the real Sarajevo Haggadah. This 14-15th century Jewish Prayer book for the Seder is quite unusual is construction and shows Christian, Muslim and Jewish influences. The more recent historical stories are pretty close to the history while the older stories are completely fiction. In many ways it felt like the movie Memento. It started with modern story, then went backwards to its creation before jumping back to the modern story to finish up. It is not a fast thriller styled book. But it has good well woven story line.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/people/
I enjoyed this book. I especially liked learning about the Haggadah through the lives of the people who made it, owned it, and used it.
I really wanted to love this book, however I failed to connect with any of the characters. Probably wasn't in the right frame of mind to read this either, the relentless persecution just depressed me. I wanted something good to happen for a change.
Loved it.
Easily moved into position as one of my favorite books of all time.
A good read. The relationships seemed a bit implausible at times, but overall I enjoyed it.
What an intriguing little read this book was! I think Geraldine Brooks is fast becoming one of my favorite authors! This was a remarkable story about the history of the priceless medieval Jewish prayer book, the Sarajevo Haggadah. Jumping back and forth in time and giving us beautiful and painful insights into the history of the book, the author does a wonderful job of wrapping facts with fiction and creating a very spellbinding read. This is definitely one to add to you own “to read” list!