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484th out of 661 books
—
557 voters
The Ghost of Hannah Mendes
by
Naomi Ragen
When Catherine da Costa, a wealthy Manhattan matron, learns she has only a short time to live, she realizes that her family tree will die unless she passes on its legacy and traditions to her granddaughters. But Suzanne and Francesca, beautiful young women caught up in trendy causes and ambitious careers, have no interest in the past. Catherine almost despairs until one ni...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
November 16th 2001
by St. Martin's Griffin
(first published January 1st 1999)
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A wealthy New York woman, Catherine da Costa, with a short time to live, she realizes that her family tree will die unless she passes on its traditions to her granddaughters, Suzanne and Francesca, they have no interest in the past.
Catherine is visited by the ghost of her family's anscestor, Hannah Mandes who encourages Catherine to get her granddaughters to journey across Europe. The sisters honor their grandmother's request out of loyalty and start to uncover ancient pages from Hannah Mendes'...more
Catherine is visited by the ghost of her family's anscestor, Hannah Mandes who encourages Catherine to get her granddaughters to journey across Europe. The sisters honor their grandmother's request out of loyalty and start to uncover ancient pages from Hannah Mendes'...more
Note: there are some spoilers in this review.
I picked this book up at random at the library, not really expecting much more than a quick read for entertainment. Well, I got much more than I bargained for.
The story weaves the lives of 4 women together: Hannah Mendes, a Jewish woman in the 1500's, Caroline, a New York Jewish matriach dying of cancer, and Suzanne and Francesca, Caroline's granddaughters. Caroline, Suzanne and Francesca are descendents of Hannah Mendes. Caroline realizes that she h...more
I picked this book up at random at the library, not really expecting much more than a quick read for entertainment. Well, I got much more than I bargained for.
The story weaves the lives of 4 women together: Hannah Mendes, a Jewish woman in the 1500's, Caroline, a New York Jewish matriach dying of cancer, and Suzanne and Francesca, Caroline's granddaughters. Caroline, Suzanne and Francesca are descendents of Hannah Mendes. Caroline realizes that she h...more
I want to say something nice first. I know people- okay one person- who have been really inspired by this book. And I felt a few warm spots in my heart at various points. And Ragen had a few thoughtful insights about the value of family tradition. So that's why three stars, although I will now be snarky.
While reading Naomi Ragen's novels, I do always care about the story and characters. But mainly, I find myself analyzing the author. And wanting to write about all her books at once. At some poin...more
While reading Naomi Ragen's novels, I do always care about the story and characters. But mainly, I find myself analyzing the author. And wanting to write about all her books at once. At some poin...more
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This book is about appreciating your family history. It is based on a Jewish family and their struggles, but you do not have to be Jewish to love this book. I am a "sucker" for books with love of family and faith--- and adding a little romance never hurt anything!
Few authors can capture history, human emotion and romance as well as international bestselling author Naomi Ragen. In "The Ghost of Hannah Mendes: A Novel", she expertly interweaves the tragic chronicle of the Spanish and Portuguese J...more
Few authors can capture history, human emotion and romance as well as international bestselling author Naomi Ragen. In "The Ghost of Hannah Mendes: A Novel", she expertly interweaves the tragic chronicle of the Spanish and Portuguese J...more
Catherine Da Costa has just found out she does not have long to live. She regrets not having instilled in her granddaughters a sense of their heritage. This is where it goes out on a limb. She is visited by the ghost of her ancestor Gracia Hannah Mendes, a wealthy woman who lived through the Inquisition (a real person). Gracia tells Catherine to find the rest of her journal. Catherine sends her granddaughters Francesca and Suzanne on this quest. They are opposites -- Francesca is responsible and...more
The story crosses historical fiction with a romance novel.
The positives: I've found myself recalling images and incidents from the book, about the Inquisition, Spain and Venice. Makes me want to read more about Sephardic Jews, the source material Ragen used about the historical characters.
The negatives: I was dissatisfied with the portrayal of the contemporary women, the granddaughters whose lives were changed by the journey undertaken on behalf of their dying grandmother. It's fiction, so the...more
The positives: I've found myself recalling images and incidents from the book, about the Inquisition, Spain and Venice. Makes me want to read more about Sephardic Jews, the source material Ragen used about the historical characters.
The negatives: I was dissatisfied with the portrayal of the contemporary women, the granddaughters whose lives were changed by the journey undertaken on behalf of their dying grandmother. It's fiction, so the...more
I loved the first 2/3 of this book, but then....the ghost scenes were a bit much for me. I felt like they were not necessary at all, and that the same information could have been passed along in the document. I guess the ghost was supposed to be the only explanation of why the granddaughters would continue the quest, and end up in Venice, when they didn't plan any of it, but still....
The author could have handled their motivation as just being to please their grandmother.
A rich, non-religious Je...more
The author could have handled their motivation as just being to please their grandmother.
A rich, non-religious Je...more
I really wanted to like this book which is the story of a family trying to learn more about their heroic anscestor (Gracia Mendes, a real historical person) at the time of the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions. Gracia Mendes was a very interesting person and I wanted to know more about her and her life. This period in history was a terrfying time to be Jewish and it should make for a great book. Despite this, I was disappointed in the modern day characters (two grandaughters and a grandmother)...more
Nov 01, 2012
Carissa
added it
This book is so good. Hard to put down. Historical fiction wrapped up in a love story and Jewish identity. What could be better!? I love the author.
Learned so much history while reading this book. I have a new appreciation for Pepper! That's right pepper. Read the book and discover pepper for yourself. Absolutely loved this book.
Learned so much history while reading this book. I have a new appreciation for Pepper! That's right pepper. Read the book and discover pepper for yourself. Absolutely loved this book.
My friend recommended this book--and even lent it to me to bring back East!--and I am SO glad she did! I loved it. It's a heartfelt story about family and accepting the role the past plays in your future.
This was a great summer read: engaging plot line, interesting format, lots of heart. The characters fell into typical stereotypes and there were places where it felt a little choppy or I wished the author would've taken a slightly different perspective, but I loved the underlying message. It al...more
This was a great summer read: engaging plot line, interesting format, lots of heart. The characters fell into typical stereotypes and there were places where it felt a little choppy or I wished the author would've taken a slightly different perspective, but I loved the underlying message. It al...more
Catherine de Costa is about to leave this life, but before she does she want to be sure her granddaughters understand and appreciate their heritage. She has a few pages of the memoirs of her ancestor Hannah Mendes who was a Jew living in Spain during the Inquistition. The book goes back an forth between the story of Catherine's granddaughters, Suzanna and Francesca, and the story of Hannah Mendes.
Ms. Ragen does a wonderful job of meshing the two stories and making us believe that the ones who w...more
Ms. Ragen does a wonderful job of meshing the two stories and making us believe that the ones who w...more
Among a certain cohort of Jewish women (including myself), everyone has read Naomi Ragen's early potboiler novels: Jephthe's Daughter, The Rape of Tamar, Sotah. Each one tells a modern story that echoes themes from one of the more sensationalist Bible stories. These books are not outstandingly well-written, nor are the characters outstandingly well fleshed out. But they're not bad, & they're almost impossible to put down once started. Rather different was The Covenant, an angry story dealing...more
The historical parts of this book were what first grabbed my interest. I really enjoyed reading from Hannah Mendes' perspective. That said, I also found that with so many intervening stories, I had a hard time remembering what was happening with Hannah from time to time.
As far as the modern-day characters go, I didn't expect to like Francesca as much as I did. At first glance she seemed so different from me. She was a career business woman who was prudent with her money, but liked having it arou...more
As far as the modern-day characters go, I didn't expect to like Francesca as much as I did. At first glance she seemed so different from me. She was a career business woman who was prudent with her money, but liked having it arou...more
I really wanted to like this book. This book had a lot of potential - it was about a family trying to understand the actions of a heroic anscestor (Gracia Mendes) at the time of the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions. Naomi Ragen could hardly have found a better backdrop for this novel. Gracia Mendes was a fascinating person and the sixteenth century was a terrfying time to be Jewish. However, the author bungled what could have been an interesting novel.
Problem #1: The characters were flat, tr...more
Problem #1: The characters were flat, tr...more
Historical novels are my favorite genre of book, and this is by far my FAVORITE book. I love how it deals with the family's past and the present at the same time, and how it all relates. One's ancestry isn't just pictures of people, it's decades and centuries of people's lives- their heartaches, their struggles, their loves, and their sacrifices for future generations. This book particularly because of it's dealings with the Inquisition, which is just heartbreaking.
The author yearns for readers...more
The author yearns for readers...more
Book Description
When Catherine da Costa, a wealthy Manhattan matron, learns she has only a short time to live, she realizes that her family tree will die unless she passes on its legacy and traditions to her granddaughters.But Suzanne and Francesca, beautiful young women caught up in trendy causes and ambitious careers, have no interest in the past.Catherine almost despairs until one night she is visited by the ghost of her family's anscestor, an indomitable Renaissance businesswoman named Hanna...more
When Catherine da Costa, a wealthy Manhattan matron, learns she has only a short time to live, she realizes that her family tree will die unless she passes on its legacy and traditions to her granddaughters.But Suzanne and Francesca, beautiful young women caught up in trendy causes and ambitious careers, have no interest in the past.Catherine almost despairs until one night she is visited by the ghost of her family's anscestor, an indomitable Renaissance businesswoman named Hanna...more
Another hit by Naomi Ragen...I have loved all of her books so far. This book was an amazing story of a 15th century Jewish heiress in the midst of the Spanish Inquisition weaved together with the story of a group of overly coddled, wealthy, selfish women who have no ties to their history. Throughout the story, the women discover themselves, their history and each other. I was so sad when this story ended--I wish that there would be a sequel to know what will happen to the women after the last pa...more
Nov 25, 2008
Andrea
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Every woman and even some men
Recommended to Andrea by:
Wendy Patterson
This book has something for every woman, romance adventure, drama, and even some life lessons. It's one of the four books that I have read more than once and could read every year and never get sick of. The others are The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, Beauty by Robin McKinley, and The Princess Bride by William Goldman. (I'm not counting any classics on my list but I do have a couple that would qualify.)
Catherine finds out that she is dying. She is visited by a ghost of one of her ancestors who asks her to find the missing pages from her story as a Jew at the time of the Inquisition. In a plan to bring her two very different granddaughters together, she asks them to find the manuscript. Hannah's story is interspersed with the two women as they travel across Europe in their search. In their travels, the two meet men who help them not only with the hunt for the manuscript, but bring the promise o...more
I finished this a few days ago and was extremely disappointed in it. It sounded like it had such good potential and the idea could have possibly made an excellent book. But...it didn't. The historical aspects were entertaining and well written and I really enjoyed them but when the author entered current day it kind of fell apart. There were too many romantic novel cliches, the characters were too stereotypical and there were too many coincidences that were attempted to be explained by the elusi...more
i was just about the give up on reading this book because it just wasn't drawing me into the story, but now that i'm on page 174 i am starting to care about what happens to the charaters. hopefully it's worth me finishing this book....
ok, just finished this book, and honestly it lost me again the last 100 pages of it. this is the second book that i've read from this author and i find that i am too annoyed by her heroines to really wish to find out how their story ends.
ok, just finished this book, and honestly it lost me again the last 100 pages of it. this is the second book that i've read from this author and i find that i am too annoyed by her heroines to really wish to find out how their story ends.
Every so often a book comes along to which one hopes the end will never come. The Ghost of Hannah Mendes was such a book. An intricately wove tale bridging the past and the present, combines history, genealogy and romance to create a must read! Being an amateur genealogist myself, I found the genealogy aspect fascinating! I cannot wait to read Ms. Ragen's other novels!
I loved this book, and would highly recommend it to those interested in Jewish history, historical fiction, mysteries, or plucky heroines. I couldn't put it down. The characters are compelling, real, flawed, and lovable. Their triumphs are a reader's joy and their blindsided mistakes are heartwrenching. Light reading but fllling.
The story held my interest because of the reference to historical events. I can only hope the references were accurate. And who doesn't like a good romance or two? But at the end I felt cheated -- it seemed to me as if the entire purpose of the book was the author's crusade against interfaith marriage. As a Jew, of course it is disappointing to me to see the decline in the number of people raising Jewish families (in the US), but I think that religion is not the most important criterion when cho...more
In general, though I'm not Jewish (it was rec'd by a Jewish friend), I liked the book...the fact that the Nasi-Mendes family is real adds depth to the fiction and learning about the Inquisition in more detail was worth the read. I criticize the book on three levels...1) the supernatural realm of ghosts got a bit much and I think detracted from the story, 2) the granddaughter characters were fairly pathetic and it was really hard to like them or sympathize with them making it a little difficult t...more
This is historical fiction, based on an actual Jewish woman living during the inquisition in Portugal and later in other places. Her descendants are seeking out her journal which has been split up and to be found in various places in Europe. The search involves some family problems and side-stories of romance and adventure. These are not so interesting as the story told in the journal. The torture of Jews at the time was horrific; and those that gave in to conversion were still in danger. I foun...more
This book was such a pleasure for me to read. I loved the author's choice of words. I thought her writing was descriptive and beautiful. I've always loved stories about Jewish people struggling to keep their religion and culture and to pass it down to future generations. The Spanish Inquisition was a terrifying time and I think this story covered it well. I loved learning about Hannah Mendes and the House of Mendes.
My only criticism of this book is that some of the conversations of the modern ch...more
My only criticism of this book is that some of the conversations of the modern ch...more
Good story of historical fiction interweaving a contemporary plot line with the Spanish Inquisition. Specifically it's a story about one Jewish family tracing and finding their ancestral roots. Interesting story though with a questionably plausible ghost who interacts with multiple characters.
I'm embarrassed to admit I've never given much thought to the Spanish Inquisition. I thought this book did a fabulous job making history come to life. It also helped me reflect on my own heritage and the importance of passing down the love and traditions one can only find in a family.
Being one of my father's favorite books, I had high expectations. This book far exceeded them! A beautiful novel written for all ages, Jewish or not. The importance of Jewish heritage and tradition is profound in this novel. The mystery of Hannah "Gracia" Mendes kept me hooked the entire book! I'd recommend this to anyone!
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Naomi Ragen is an American-born novelist and playwright who has lived in Jerusalem since 1971. She has published seven internationally best-selling novels, and is the author of a hit play. Naomi also publishes a regular column that deals with Jewish subjects, especially Israel.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/naomir...
More about Naomi Ragen...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/naomir...
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