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December 05, 2008
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 | People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks | Reviewed by Harriet Klausner |  | Publisher: Viking
http://www.us.penguingroup.com
ISBN: 9780670018215
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Historical
Release date: Jan 2008
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 350
Price: $25.95
| In 1996 Sydney, Australia, resident Hanna Heath receives a call from the UN that they need her expertise as a rare-book conservator. Apparently the renowned Sarajevo Haggadah, thought destroyed during the Bosnian War, has been found. Hanna is euphoric, as she knows the value of this incredible ancient Hebrew tome with its images.
Although 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. 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. | | |
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