People of the Book

by Geraldine Brooks

book data

6,691 ratings, 3.82 average rating, 2,186 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		23%
4		44%
3		24%
2		6%
1		1%

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published

January 1st 2008 by Viking Adult

binding

Hardcover, 372 pages

characters

Hanna Heath

isbn

067001821X (isbn13: 9780670018215)

description

In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, whic...more

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02/06/08

Ukrainer rated it:

Read in February, 2008

I try to avoid all things popular (e.g., I’ve never seen Star Wars or Titanic) because I know, after all the hype, I can only be disappointed. When it comes to books, though, I feel obligated to read what’s popular so I can participate somewhat intelligently in the conversation.

That being said, although I hoped Geraldine Brook’s People of the Book would live up to the buzz, I wasn’t too surprised when it did not. The book is good, but it is not call-up-all-my-friends-(or reader...more

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01/25/09

Catherine rated it:

(review of isbn 0143115006)

bookshelves: 2009, australia, bosnia, mainstream-us, spain

Read in January, 2009

This is an awful book.

I expected great things from Brooks - March is a book I treasure - but this novel is a third-rate Da Vinci code, written with about the same amount of skill.

The premise is captivating - a 500-year-old haggadah is found in Sarajevo in 1996, and the novel sets out to explore the book's journey across Europe in those intervening years. Along the way, the haggadah acts as an entry point into the tumult, crisis, and unspeakable violence experienced by Je...more This is an awful book.

I expected great things from Brooks - March is a book I treasure - but this novel is a third-rate Da Vinci code, written with about the same amount of skill.

The premise is captivating - a 500-year-old haggadah is found in Sarajevo in 1996, and the novel sets out to explore the book's journey across Europe in those intervening years. Along the way, the haggadah acts as an entry point into the tumult, crisis, and unspeakable violence experienced by Jewish communities across Europe.

Yet the novel does not live up to the premise. The focus is not upon the haggadah or the people who have handled it between 1480 and 1996, but rather upon the Australian conservator called in to restore it in Sarajevo. The details of where the haggadah has been are important because Hanna, the conservator, is writing an essay about its journey, and she'll gain academic and professional prestige from doing so. Hello, cultural appropriation! For example: "why had an illuminator working in Spain, for a Jewish client, in the manner of a European Christian, have used an Iranian paintbrush? Clarissa's identification of this anomaly had been great for my essay. It had given me an excuse to riff on the way knowledge had traveled amazing distances during the Conveivencia, over well-established routes linking the artists and intellectuals of Spain with their counterparts in Baghdad, Cairo, and Isphahan." (321) (We are actually supposed to clap our hands with glee on Hanna's behalf at that point, I think.) Once Hanna's expertise about the haggadah is questioned, she gives up her work as a conservator of old, European and Middle Eastern texts, and instead starts saving Australian Aboriginal art from being destroyed by mining companies. She has an assistant - he's Aboriginal, but it's Hanna who we're supposed to identify and sympathize with, feeling pleased that she's a white superwoman, saving people from themselves.

There are other truly problematic issues of race in the text. The first character of color we encounter is a Rasta cab driver who smokes ganja and who won't drop her at Scotland Yard in case he gets caught for using drugs. We meet a man - Raz - who is part African-American and part Hawaiian, and whom the protagonist observes "was one of those vanguard beings of indeterminate ethnicity, the magnificent mutts I hope we are all destined to become given another millennium of intermixing." (141). Yep, that's right, she just called him a mongrel. The depictions of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faith are so broad-brushed i don't know what to think - it's like a child's paint-by-numbers for major world religions.

And of course, in the tradition of Dan Brown, it's a love story. Within a few pages of beginning the book Hanna's sleeping with the Muslim curator of Sarajevo's major museum, and by the end she's overcome her aversion to the idea of a long-term relationship and is ready to be with him. Whoop-dee-doo.

In conclusion: UGH.

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09/30/08

tuesday rated it:

bookshelves: contemporary

Geraldine, Geraldine. Oh, where do I start with this book? I’ll start by saying that I was never a fan of Year of Wonders, so I was [IMO, quite understandably] apprehensive about reading this one. I had, however, heard positive reviews so I decided to give it ago.

I have a sort of ‘three tick’ system (I don’t deliberately go through it when reading or choosing a book, but this is invariably what happens) - if the cover is good, it gets one tick. If it’s had good reviews and/...more Geraldine, Geraldine. Oh, where do I start with this book? I’ll start by saying that I was never a fan of Year of Wonders, so I was [IMO, quite understandably] apprehensive about reading this one. I had, however, heard positive reviews so I decided to give it ago.

I have a sort of ‘three tick’ system (I don’t deliberately go through it when reading or choosing a book, but this is invariably what happens) - if the cover is good, it gets one tick. If it’s had good reviews and/OR I’m a fan of the author’s previous books, it gets another tick. If the book itself is good, it gets a third tick. Eighty percent of the books I read are two-tick books. And it’s quite surprising how many books deserve only one tick - and not because the book is fabulous with a hideous cover. Going through my tick system, I can see that I’m being overly critical - People of the Book is a two-tick book. Yes, it received good reviews and it had a good cover: the delicious cover saved it. The disconcerting part is that it missed out on the most important tick of all.

I’ve got nothing against the plot. It’s a fabulous plot; and I think for the size and scale of it, she structured it quite well. Yet there was something missing. There was something dry and artificial about the movement of the whole thing. Some books, with quite mundane plots, will flow fabulously - the characters will push the narrative along nicely. People of the Book had all the aspects of an excellent novel; Brooks could so easily have created a beautiful piece of writing pulsing with emotion and human nature and breathing characters from the story of the Haggadah - but something fell short here. It was like a production of Shakespeare with plastic mannequins. I felt that the plot and the actual writing told two different stories. It seemed that through the plot, Brooks was trying to say that once we are stripped of ethnicity, age, sex etc, we’re all equal. Despite the labels we have created for each other, we can oercome such barriers and be united (in this case, towards the presevation of the Haggadah). That’s all very good; it’s a good message. But the writing itself didn’t convey this so much.

Perhaps it was the awkwardness of protagonist, Hannah, that seeped into the atmosphere of the whole novel. She’s quite an odd character; eccentric and anti-social almost, but not at all likeable. Some characters can be queer, or even plain horrible, but still be likeable - say, for instance, Javert from Les Miserables. He’s clearly not a ‘nice guy’, but he’s fascinating as a character; I quite like him. There’s another thing I don’t understand. Hannah is quite clearly a MacGuffin; a plot device placed [awkwardly] into the novel, to tie all the historical events together. Why, Geraldine? Why create such a despicable character to be your MacGuffin? It makes the book fall apart awkwardly, instead of holding everything together.

Some might argue that it would have been impossible to cram so much history and life into one book, and that Brooks did the best that was possible for such a large plot, but I believe eloquence and good characterisation and capturing human nature/emotion is achievable, regardless of word limit. Brevity should not be an impediment to a writer (take Hemingway, for instance). I was left feeling somewhat bemused at the end of each historical segment - I would find myself reluctantly being wrenched away from those fascinating historical insights, back to Hannah Heath and her ghastly relationship with her mother. Right. I reckon this is another case of poor revision/editing. I know I sound like a snob here, criticising famous published authors about their books when I’m a nobody, but IMHO, this book would have possibly been a three tick book if Brooks had omitted all the Hannah Heath parts, and spent more time in 1600s Venice, or in 1940s Sarajevo, or wherever. That’s all I’m saying.

Maybe it’s not a matter of something missing. Maybe Geraldine Brooks attempted too much? If she had focused on even one part of the Haggadah’s history, I reckon it would have been enough. For instance, I really loved the section detailing the the actual creation of the book - I think this section came last (it’s all sort of hazy in my mind because it was a while ago). The story of the woman who so lovingly illustrated the Haggadah; that story on its own would have been a remarkable book.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read, but I feel that it’s the type of book I’ll read once and forget about. Geraldine Brooks is a great writer - she’s not bad by any means - it’s just that there’s no special oomph factor that separates her from the multitudes of other writers. After I finish a three tick book, I’ll usually soak in its ambience for a while; I find myself thinking over parts of the plot, or mulling over certain characters. This? It didn’t leave much of an impression. Logically, I should have steered away from it. People were exuberant about Year of Wonders, and lavishly praised it, so if this one had only received ‘good’ reviews, I should have known I’d be disappointed.

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05/05/08

Rachel rated it:

Read in May, 2008

I buy a lot of books. It's sort of sad, given that I am supposed to be budgeting and have completely (okay, almost completely) stopped buying clothes, but books call to me. I figure you can buy a paperback for $10, or you can go to a movie for $10 - one gets you a couple of hours of entertainment in a confined space, one gets you hours of entertainment wherever you want them. So, anyway, I went into this book planning to love it. I even caved and bought the hardbound, so anxious was I to sta...more

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03/16/08

Marissa rated it:

Read in March, 2008

There was a book written a few years ago (I can't remember its name) where it followed a painting through its owners. I didn't really like the book and didn't finish it but as I started this one, I thought, "Oh, Brooks is following the same pattern."

In this book we are introduced to the Haggadah in Sarajevo. The book is a treasure, it was written sometime in the 16th century. It has illustrations that are the first of their kidn for a Jewish work. The book has somehow su...more

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04/28/08

Mary rated it:

Read in April, 2008

What a fantastic story. Don't be put off by the first bit when you meet Hanna, the main character: she is supposed to be kind of annoying. You end up loving her with a compassion that this author can magically instill in you for all of her characters, of which there are many. The book also spans many centuries and traverses many continents, so it's a bit complex. But wow: This account of the history of a little book takes you through the darkest hours of human history, including the Inquisiti...more

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07/01/08

Jennifer rated it:

bookshelves: adult-books

Read in August, 2008

Geraldine Brook's latest is a treat for us librarians (as well as dedicated to us in the front!) as she traces the path of an ancient religious text that, although Jewish in origin, was saved and added to several times over by members of different religions and cultures throughout time. As usual, Brooks' prose is both incredibly readable and laudably literary, and her theme that the love of knowledge and books crosses all historical and cultural boundaries is well illustrated through her complex...more

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02/04/09

Khulser rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Bold to cast a book conservateur as heroine. While her character is a little thin and hard-boiled in pulpy style, the story line and historical time shifts are fascinating. The detective work on provenance and ownership reveals one of the great passions of museum work, and also testifies to the importance of the actual writing and books as object. Because the Sarajevo Haggadah that occupies the foreground is illuminated, the tale partakes of the painting who-dunnit. While the writing itself is n...more

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04/19/09

jo rated it:

Read in April, 2009

recommends it for: lovers of european history, books, and religious history

i am not a great fan of historical fiction, but this book is interesting and inventive and lovely and i'm so glad i read it. it follows the story of a particularly beautiful haggadah, the passover prayer book (am i saying this right?), through various centuries and incredible journeys, in alternating chapters in which you see a contemporary book curator trying to unveil the history of this amazing object, just resurfaced in sarajevo (it's 1996 and the war is raging), then jump back in history an...more

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01/09/09

Stacy rated it:

SO DISAPPOINTING!!! The protagonist is a rancid bitch about whom I didn't care a damn, and her mother was even MORE distasteful! Absolutely nothing was accomplished by Brooks' choice to make those characters so off-putting. The entire modern-day plot was absurd and totally implausible (not to mention, totally derivative of Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code). As to the historical fiction aspect, I really appreciate what Brooks was trying to do. Some of what she came up with was really very in...more

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03/21/08

April rated it:

bookshelves: 2008

recommends it for: history buffs, people interested in the history of books and bookmaking

A book conservator is trying to find the human story behind a very rare haggadah as she is restoring it physically.

There really is a Sarajevo haggadah, and it really was saved during the bombing of Sarajevo in the 90s.

As someone who loves books, any books, and who appreciates the rare artistry and history of ancient books, I found the story to be very interesting.

I like how Brooks wove the history of the haggadah into the modern plot, going further and furt...more

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01/20/08

KatieB rated it:

bookshelves: reading--but-shelved-for-the-moment

Read in February, 2008

recommended to KatieB by: P&P
recommends it for: Tasha

Okay... where do I begin? Geraldine Brooks has had a lot of hype, especially with regards to her book, March. I haven't read March yet, but if it's written like People of the Book, then I'll probably pass.

So far, this book isn't bad (I'm just under 100 pages into it)... it's just hard to stomach the way in which it has been written. Ms. Brooks constantly sounds like she's trying too hard to be descriptive and have impressive diction. Personally, I think she used a thesaurus -- a ...more

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11/16/08

Jenny rated it:

This is one of the best novels I’ve read in years, and I recommend it whole-heartedly. It’s especially good for those fascinated by European or Jewish history. The central character is Hanna Heath, who is engaged in restoring an old and famous Haggadah. As she finds tiny clues to the book’s history, the author expands these into stories. She takes the Haggadah from the 20th century back to the 15th, from war in Sarajevo to the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. The three Euro...more

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01/02/09

Sally rated it:

Read in January, 2009

I loved the view this book gave of the hardships the Jewish people have experienced over time. I realized that, sadly, God's chosen people have suffered again and again at the hands of oppressors. Also, I appreciated the sense of sharing of ideas that existed between Jews, Muslims and Christians at certain times in history. The wealth that comes from this mutual appreciation and edification is evident in the haggadah. Some bits of the book seemed a little forced or contrived. However, if we...more

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03/02/09

Katy rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Even when I really like a book I generally give it 4 stars because I know there are a few books out there that really make me say WOW. This is one of those books! For such a small book it is packed with interesting characters from a variety of time periods. I love historic fiction and this gives you a taste of several different points in history where this book traveled. Loved it!!

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05/28/08

Lbsantini rated it:

I only got through the first 50 pages on this one. I'll try her novel The Wonder Years, but I found the narrator just too whipsmart. Also, there was a line or two that made me groan outloud. When Hannah is sitting on a plane next to someone who removes mines, she says to herself something like: "I thought about making a borderline comment like, 'business booming, eh?'" Yuck! Also, she "seduces" a guy by licking his fingers at a restaurant. All I could think was, "Who rea...more

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02/28/09

Glee rated it:

Read in February, 2009

I think this is really a 4-star, but I went to Bosnia in 2005 so this had a lot of resonance for me. This is a nice piece of historical fiction about the Sarajevo haggadah (which is a real prayer book). Brooks uses actual known facts about the haggadah's travels and origins to weave this story of its creation and perilous journey to the present day. The protagonist is a hard-nosed antisocial archeologist who I really liked...I'm not sure what that says about me, but there it is. In her effor...more

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01/15/09

Karen rated it:

bookshelves: smart-pulp

Read in February, 2009

I enjoy books that are about books and the people who write them, collect them, study them, and restore them. Brook's tale is initially set in the early 21st century where she brings in a series of experts who have some stake in a centuries' old Haggadah. It's interesting to watch these folks interact with each other and with the book. We see their quirks, their politics, their passions and their personal relationships all have some sway in how the book is treated.

Brooks then take...more I enjoy books that are about books and the people who write them, collect them, study them, and restore them. Brook's tale is initially set in the early 21st century where she brings in a series of experts who have some stake in a centuries' old Haggadah. It's interesting to watch these folks interact with each other and with the book. We see their quirks, their politics, their passions and their personal relationships all have some sway in how the book is treated.

Brooks then takes us on a series of flashbacks that move us further and further into the past, to the book's origins. As we move through time backwards, we see more people who an interest in this volume. The book itself serves as a focus point for peeling away at layers of culture, politics, theology and matters of the heart.

Over time, it's apparent that the title People of the Book is not reserved for those of Jewish heritage. It also refers to Christians and Muslims. Over and over again, people from these three traditions connect and tussle with each other. We see a complex set of relationships to how they interact with each other--sometimes with mutual respect and cooperation, sometimes with strained relationships, sometimes in full-out conflict. The Balkans is a great symbol for the tense diversity experienced in the world among those who cherish religious tales that materialize in texts that go by a variety of names: The Tanach, The Koran, The Old Testament.

I loved how Brooks weaves together the history, the traditions, the cultures, the religons over time with her focus on the Haggadah. Even more interesting is the fact that there really was such a text with a complex history. She complicates things further with her imagination, but there is an amazing thread of truth within this tapestry Brooks weaves.

Is it a perfect book? No. There are a few roughs spots, but it amazed me on many other levels, and I loved it so well, I may just reread it right away, which is something I rarely do. (less)

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03/28/09

Liz rated it:

Read in January, 2009

I enjoyed this book a lot. It's about a book (a Haggadah, but I am not exactly sure what that is), that has been found and needs to be restored. The restorer finds a number of little things that have been stuck in the bindings (a hair, an insect wing, salt, etc.) and the story goes back in time to tell how these items became part of the binding of the book. I read it a while ago, so unfortunately don't remember it too well, but it is very interesting and you learn a little about different rel...more

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12/20/08

Stephanie rated it:

Read in January, 2008

ACCORDING the Koran, the “People of the Book” are the non-Muslims who received the word of God before the time of the prophet Muhammad – namely Jews and Christians.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their common roots, relationships between the three religious groups through history and up to the present day have been marked by strife.
But in her new novel People Of The Book, American journalist-turned-novelist Geraldine Brooks has weaved an epic tale of individuals who, driven by...more ACCORDING the Koran, the “People of the Book” are the non-Muslims who received the word of God before the time of the prophet Muhammad – namely Jews and Christians.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their common roots, relationships between the three religious groups through history and up to the present day have been marked by strife.
But in her new novel People Of The Book, American journalist-turned-novelist Geraldine Brooks has weaved an epic tale of individuals who, driven by circumstance, conscience or charity, created and preserved what is now known as the Sarajevo Haggadah, an actual 15th-century Jewish artifact.
A Haggadah is a special book Jews use at Passover to tell the story of the Exodus, and this one is an elaborately illustrated specimen made at a time when Jewish belief was firmly against creating images.
The narrative begins in 1996, right after the Bosnian war. While the city lies in ruins, its broken buildings “sticking up in ragged rows like rotting teeth”, a minor miracle has happened: the Haggadah, feared destroyed, has turned up in a bank vault, rescued under heavy shelling from the museum by a Muslim librarian.
The job of examining and preparing the work for a special exhibition to celebrate peace and promote religious tolerance falls to rare book conserver Hanna Heath. The 30-year-old Australian has landed the plum job partly due to her expertise, but primarily as her citizenship is seen as non-threatening to all parties – another nod to the supremacy of divisions.
As Hanna pores over the ancient manuscript, she finds tiny clues as to its history littering its pages – an iridescent insect wing, wine stains, saltwater marks and a fine white hair dyed yellow. With the help of expert colleagues, she seeks out the stories behind the book: “I wanted to give a sense of the people of the book, the different hands that had made it, used it, protected it.”
Meanwhile, she also has to deal with her own past. A sexual dalliance with the heroic librarian has compelled her to try and find a cure for his dying son, made a vegetable by a sniper’s bullet. She resorts to approaching her estranged neurosurgeon mother, an expert in brains but not so much in hearts. Needless to say, skeletons in closets are given an airing.
Though what Hannah can draw from the clues is scant and enigmatic, the reader is left less frustrated. Interspersed with Hannah’s story is the story of the book, as Brooks takes us on a whirlwind journey back to the Haggadah's beginnings.
Starting with the rescue of the book by another Muslim librarian during World War II, we go back to its manhandling in anti-Semitic 19th century Vienna, its rescue from burning by a Catholic priest during the 17th century Spanish inquisition in Venice, and the creation of its calligraphy and illustrations in 15th century Barcelona and Seville.
Brooks avoids painting heartwarming, simplistic pictures of cooperation and do-goodery. Yes, there are moments of compassion, but there is also shame, greed and cowardice – human qualities which endear the characters to the reader even as they highlight the eternal struggle between Man’s nature and his ideals.
A former reporter for The Wall Street Journal who covered the war in Bosnia, Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2006 for her previous novel March, which follows the father of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women through the American civil war.
She imbues her novel with fascinatingly privileged detail, from the step-by-step description of Hannah’s conservation of the book, to her depiction of a 15th-century Moorish painter cutting the long throat hairs of a Persian cat for use as the bristles of a fine brush.
However, at times she loses control of her plot: Hannah’s obligatory romance with the heroic librarian is never entirely convincing nor compelling, while the twist at the end is tedious and rather improbable. Fortunately, these merely bog down, rather than ruin, the narrative.
The Haggadah has survived the wars and disasters of the ages, a symbol religious tolerance amidst centuries of persecution. Likewise, Brooks has managed to look beyond the broad brush strokes of the religious divide and into the minds of individuals who transcend these chasms to touch one another, preserving a work of art and, in the process, creating hope.(less)

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