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People of the Book: A Novel
by Geraldine Brooks

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1379961.People_of_the_Book_A_Novel?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="People of the Book: A Novel" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TZKlSeE%2BL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1379961.People_of_the_Book_A_Novel?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">People of the Book: A Novel</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/211268.Geraldine_Brooks">Geraldine Brooks</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21265996?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 5 of 5 stars<br/>Ok, I am not much of a Jew.....  not even a cultural Jew.  But I do love books and so what drew me to this story was the fact that it tracked an old old book through the ages.  The background story is that a very old Jewish religious book was found and needs to be restored.  Bit by bit, the main character unravels the sections (chapters sounds too ridiculous) of the book's history.  Each section on the book restoration (and there is a fine story in that timeline too) is followed by a chapter explaining what really occurred to the book such that something unique showed up in the restoration timeline.
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<br/>Ok - sounds kinda boring when I type it.  But the entire book was really compelling.  The author did an amazing job of explaining the history of the Jewish people throughout the centuries.  You could read about that in a million books.  What makes this novel special is the personalization.  Each individual novella is short, bittersweet, and heart-wrenching.    Another story where you know the end result and can't help but root for the doomed anyway.  
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<br/>By the close of the novel, I felt like I understood the trials of the Jewish people more than I ever have.  I don't buy all the politics and rhetoric, but I have always felt most alienated from this group not because of the current place in history they hold but because I can't ever imagine going through such a long history of repression without action.  I still don't agree, but I think I better understand.
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1127145?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Antigone's review
rating:
recommended for: lovers of historical fiction

Ok, I am not much of a Jew..... not even a cultural Jew. But I do love books and so what drew me to this story was the fact that it tracked an old old book through the ages. The background story is that a very old Jewish religious book was found and needs to be restored. Bit by bit, the main character unravels the sections (chapters sounds too ridiculous) of the book's history. Each section on the book restoration (and there is a fine story in that timeline too) is followed by a chapter explaining what really occurred to the book such that something unique showed up in the restoration timeline.

Ok - sounds kinda boring when I type it. But the entire book was really compelling. The author did an amazing job of explaining the history of the Jewish people throughout the centuries. You could read about that in a million books. What makes this novel special is the personalization. Each individual novella is short, bittersweet, and heart-wrenching. Another story where you kno...more

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