|
Journal Entry 1 by cheesygiraffe from Florence, Alabama USA on Saturday, December 27, 2008
 In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—she begins to unlock the book’s mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book’s journey from its salvation back to its creation.
In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the book becomes a pawn in the struggle against the city’s rising anti-Semitism. In inquisition-era Venice, a Catholic priest saves it from burning. In Barcelona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text sees his family destroyed by the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah’s extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed. Hanna’s investigation unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics. Her experiences will test her belief in herself and the man she has come to love.
Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity, an ambitious, electrifying work by an acclaimed and beloved author.
|
|
Journal Entry 2 by cheesygiraffe from Florence, Alabama USA on Friday, January 01, 2010
Finished this back on September 19th and forgot to journal. Oops!
*****************
This books sucks you in like a vacuum. I stayed up late last night and finished it. I've always wondered how a book has lived it's life and with this novel we see 500 years worth.
|
|
Journal Entry 3 by cheesygiraffe at Best of Swap, BookObsessed Swap -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, February 04, 2010
Released 2 yrs ago (2/4/2010 UTC) at Best of Swap, BookObsessed Swap -- Controlled Releases CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Going to TheRubyCanary. Enjoy!
|
|
Journal Entry 5 by therubycanary at LLBean Northport Call Center in Portland, Maine USA on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Released 3 mos ago (1/31/2012 UTC) at LLBean Northport Call Center in Portland, Maine USA WILD RELEASE NOTES:
This book was good, but not as great as I would expect from a Pulitzer Prize winner. I found it to be kind of muted storytelling. I did really enjoy the main character though, and thought the transitions through time were quite ambitious. Of course, it's hard to dislike a book that is about books!
Left on the bookswap shelf at work.
|
People of the Book: A Novel
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
