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Average rating: 4/5

Based on 124 ratings

People Of The Book

by BROOKS GERALDINE

Viking USA | December 19, 2011 | Hardcover

Make this your next book club selection and everyone saves.
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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. 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-siecle 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.

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  • Heather Reisman's Review
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My very first Heather's Pick - and still one of my favourite stories - was 'The Secret Book of Grazia Dei Rossi'. A love story between a poor young woman and a dashing Count, set against the backdrop of all that was happening in the time of the Medicis, the richly imagined saga was inspired when author Jacquie Parks came across two letters in the young woman's hand archived at The New York Public Library.

Similarly, People of the Book, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks, takes its inspiration from a small truth - the real-life existence of a rare and richly illustrated Passover Haggadah, originally created in medieval Spain. 'People of the Book' has it all - romance, mystery, intrigue, history, and when all is said and done - a great life lesson.

It is storytelling at its best and will surely be considered one of the best novels of 2008. The perfect read to curl up with on these last few wintery weekends.

This reviewer also recommends:
Comments on this review:
Toni Chillas

The above review does not tell me too much as to the story written by Geraldine Brooks. It would be interesting to have more information regarding the plot and feel of the novel. Thanks... Toni

Sherry V

I thought that too, Toni. Read review a few times. Left wondering 'What about the Passover Haggadah?" Went to book description to find out more of the storyline.

Heather Reisman

HI I agree.. this was a shortened version of the review. Longer posting coming very shortly. Heather

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