People Book Novel Geraldine Brooks
The most profound effect that this book had on me was to make me realize just how much is tied to inanimate objects. I dearly love going to museums and though I occasionally do wonder what life was like for the person who fashioned that ancient goblet or who wore that suit of armor, I have never found myself reflecting on it as profoundly as I did after reading this book. Brooks did a wonderful job of instilling in me, as a reader, a sense of how a seemingly innocuous object as an ancient, illuminated book can bear witness to centuries of human drama. The book masterfully recreated the sense of urgency that exists in everyday life while showing that everyday life is so fleeting and that one's time on the planet is so short as to be merely a thread in the tapestry that history has woven.
The book opens in 1996, with Hanna, a book restorer and expert on ancient manuscripts who has been asked to examine and make repairs to the Sarajevo haggadah, an ancient book that is something akin to a Jewish book of hours. While restoring the book, Hanna finds an insect wing, a dark stain, some salt crystals, and a white hair. She uses these objects in an attempt to trace the history of the book.
It is at this point that People of the Book really becomes a wonder. Brooks does a masterful job of creating a contemporary drama--that of Hanna's quest and events in her own personal life--that is interwoven with a series of historical dramas. This book is a story within a story within a story and it serves as a reminder of how history tends to loop back on itself. Tied to each of the four pieces of evidence that Hanna has found in the book is a story that tells one small part of the tale of the haggadah's creation and journey and each of these stories takes us further back in time.
This is a book so vivid and rich that I find it difficult to describe. Brooks has a mastery of words and though the locations and the eras she describes are all vastly different, what stands out is her depictions of humanity in all its greatness and flaws. Hanna's own journey could have made for a good novel in and of itself but Brooks gives it more impact by casting it against the tales of all those who have been touched by the book long before Hanna.
What is really remarkable about the novel is how it highlights the sameness of the struggles of its Jewish protagonists. As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same and this is certainly the argument that this novel makes. Brooks charts a course of history that shows how, time and again, people of the Jewish faith have been made victims because of that faith, how one day Jews live peacefully alongside Christians and Muslims and how they next they are being persecuted by those very neighbors. Though the novel suggests that the survival of the book itself is extraordinary, what is truly extraordinary is the actions of those who ensure the survival of the book. While the chance to behold such an ancient text is certainly a marvel, what is even more marvelous is to try to imagine the lives of those who saw to it that we could, one day, view that ancient text in a museum or in a library. This novel just proves how wonderful is Brooks's mind, that her experiences with an ancient text allowed her thoughts to take flight and to produce this sterling work of literature.
A wonderful surprise found at my library. I thought it might be just another "chick" book,and was looking for a good yarn to listen to on a long trip. I was pleasantly astounded at the pace and depth of the story. It seems as though I learned something new in each chapter about the origin of paint colors, judiaism and islam, historical bits of the Spanish Inquisition and the Bosnian War. The story is centered around the Sarajevo Haggadah with a full explanation of what it is) and its travels over 500 years through war, relisious and political persecution, and the people that use and protect it. This audio version is a masterpiece in the shading and tone of a wide range of characters that the reader, Edwina Wren, gives to each one. Other reviews will give you a sense of the plot and sub-plots. Taken in its entirety, it a book that you will be recommending to your favorite reading friends.
BalasHapusI think the mark of a good book is that when you finish reading it, you can't get it out of your mind. The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks definitely is a good book, and more. It's a haunting, mesmerizing and beautifully written story about the Sarajevo Haggadah.
BalasHapusA haggadah is a book of Jewish rites and the Sarajevo Haggadah was written in Spain before the exile of Jews from there in 1492. One of the things that makes this particular haggadah so unique is that it is richly illustrated, which was against Jewish beliefs of the time. Also, the fact that it survived at all is no small miracle. It is known that the haggadah went from Spain to Venice, and then to Vienna before landing in Sarajevo. Twice, it was rescued by Muslim librarians--once during World War II and again during the Bosnian War. Brooks fills in the gaps with an incredible tale that combines historical fact, customs of the day, and her moving fictional characters.
People of the Book opens in 1996 when Australian rare book conservator, Dr. Hanna Heath, is tapped by the UN to conserve and restore the famous Haggadah. The things she discovers (an insect wing, a salt stain, a red blotch, a priest's signature, and a hair fragment) will allow Brooks to travel back in history to relate the story of how they came about. Throughout history, the book survives as a witness to the "Inquisition, Nazis, extremist Serb nationalists." Heath is also forced to evaluate and restore her personal life, as she assess the things that are truly important to her and then makes choices that support these values. The combination of Heath's professional and personal revelations provides us with a surprising and heart-warming ending.
I especially enjoyed the history associated with People of the Book. I didn't realize how many times in history, Christians, Jews and Muslims lived in relative peace. When Spain expelled the Jews, Venice and Bosnia gave them a home. The Sarajevo Haggadah is a book that transcends all three religions. The Muslim librarian who saved the book during the Bosnian War tells Heath "the haggadah came to Sarajevo for a reason. It was here to test us, to see if there were people who could see that what united us was more than what divides us. That to be a human being matters more than to be a Jew or a Muslim, Catholic or Orthodox."
I became a big fan of Geraldine Brooks when I first read Year of Wonders, and then March. Now, People of the Book just reaffirms Brooks' talents as a writer of historic fiction.
BalasHapusThe most profound effect that this book had on me was to make me realize just how much is tied to inanimate objects. I dearly love going to museums and though I occasionally do wonder what life was like for the person who fashioned that ancient goblet or who wore that suit of armor, I have never found myself reflecting on it as profoundly as I did after reading this book. Brooks did a wonderful job of instilling in me, as a reader, a sense of how a seemingly innocuous object as an ancient, illuminated book can bear witness to centuries of human drama. The book masterfully recreated the sense of urgency that exists in everyday life while showing that everyday life is so fleeting and that one's time on the planet is so short as to be merely a thread in the tapestry that history has woven.
BalasHapusThe book opens in 1996, with Hanna, a book restorer and expert on ancient manuscripts who has been asked to examine and make repairs to the Sarajevo haggadah, an ancient book that is something akin to a Jewish book of hours. While restoring the book, Hanna finds an insect wing, a dark stain, some salt crystals, and a white hair. She uses these objects in an attempt to trace the history of the book.
It is at this point that People of the Book really becomes a wonder. Brooks does a masterful job of creating a contemporary drama--that of Hanna's quest and events in her own personal life--that is interwoven with a series of historical dramas. This book is a story within a story within a story and it serves as a reminder of how history tends to loop back on itself. Tied to each of the four pieces of evidence that Hanna has found in the book is a story that tells one small part of the tale of the haggadah's creation and journey and each of these stories takes us further back in time.
This is a book so vivid and rich that I find it difficult to describe. Brooks has a mastery of words and though the locations and the eras she describes are all vastly different, what stands out is her depictions of humanity in all its greatness and flaws. Hanna's own journey could have made for a good novel in and of itself but Brooks gives it more impact by casting it against the tales of all those who have been touched by the book long before Hanna.
What is really remarkable about the novel is how it highlights the sameness of the struggles of its Jewish protagonists. As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same and this is certainly the argument that this novel makes. Brooks charts a course of history that shows how, time and again, people of the Jewish faith have been made victims because of that faith, how one day Jews live peacefully alongside Christians and Muslims and how they next they are being persecuted by those very neighbors. Though the novel suggests that the survival of the book itself is extraordinary, what is truly extraordinary is the actions of those who ensure the survival of the book. While the chance to behold such an ancient text is certainly a marvel, what is even more marvelous is to try to imagine the lives of those who saw to it that we could, one day, view that ancient text in a museum or in a library. This novel just proves how wonderful is Brooks's mind, that her experiences with an ancient text allowed her thoughts to take flight and to produce this sterling work of literature.
In 1996, Sydney, Australian resident Hanna Heath receives a call from the UN as they want to use her rare book conservator expertise. Apparently the renowned Sarajevo Haggadah, thought destroyed during the Bosnian War, has been found. Harriet is euphoric as she knows the value of this incredible ancient Hebrew tome with its images.
BalasHapusAlthough a loner whose only love is rare books, when Hanna meets the "savior" Muslim librarian Karaman, they are attracted to one another. Still it is the book that holds her enthralled as she begins to uncover other artifacts of the past buried inside the pages (white hair, insect wing, salt, and a wine stain) and items missing (lost fasteners). Each tells a unique story about who held the precious Sarajevo Haggadah.
PEOPLE OF THE BOOK is an interesting tale that uses the discoveries by Hannah to take the reader back in time to meet those who handled the ancient tome in various eras like 1940 Bosnia, 1480 Seville, and 1492 Barcelona, etc. Each entry provides a historical conflict between a person protecting the book and those wanting to defile the book. Throughout this superb fiction tale is the underlying message that the time for the Jews, Muslims and Christians to unite in peace is now not tomorrow as all have more in common than the differences that divide them.
Harriet Klausner
This novel is a weaving of lives and events around a ancient Hebrew book: the Sarajevo Haggadah. The novel moves between the present, where Dr Hanna Heath is researching and restoring the Sarajevo Haggadah, and events and people specific to the creation and journey of the manuscript in the past. Along the way, the reader learns something of the creation of such manuscripts and of their restoration.
BalasHapusFor me, the story of the book and the people associated with it in the past is far more interesting than the contemporary story of Dr Heath. This is an issue of personal taste rather than any lack of balance in the writing and, if anything, reflects how drawn I was to the travels and travails of this document.
Ultimately, this novel is a triumph. Although it is a work of fiction, Ms Brooks tells us that it is inspired by the true story of the Hebrew codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. The journeys undertaken by such books over the centuries, and their survival, is something to be marvelled at and thankful for.
Yes, this is truly a `gripping and moving novel about war, art, love and survival.'
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
I didn't expect to like this book. I looked it over 3-4 times before I actually purchased it. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. The weaving of the present day with the history of the book is extremely well done. The ending is well thought out and seems like a natural conclusion. I hated to finish it because it's one of those rare, "meaty" good reads. I highly recommend it.
BalasHapus