From the blurb:

"The book came across six hundred years and an entire continent. Through the hands of the devout, the desperate and the deadly. To the one woman who can bring it all to glorious life...

"During World War II a Bosnian Muslin risks his life to save the book from the Nazis; it gets caught up in the intrigues of hedonistic nineteenth-century Vienna; a Catholic priest saves it from burning in the fires of the Inquisition. These stories and more make up the secret history of the priceless Sarajevo Haggadah - a medieval Jewish prayer book recovered from the smouldering remains of the war-torn city.

"Now it is in the skilled hands of rare-book restorer Hanna Heath. And while the content of the book interests her, it is the hidden history which captures her imagination. Because to her the tiny clues - salt crystals, a hair, wine stains - that she discovers in the pages and bindings are keys to unlock its mysteries..."

Not good. Kept me entertained on a short plane journey, but is nothing special.

I saw on a forum that a copy of this book which is on a bookring has been lost, so I'm supplying this as a replacement copy. Here is a link to the original journal.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6690730

I'll send this out when I have an address, glad to pass it on!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posting off to ETMAdrid, hope it travels well and arrives safely, and that everyone enjoys the book more than I did!

Thank you so much Fluffy-Owl. I'll be reading this soon and let you know what I think of it. Unless the original copy makes a surprise reappearance, this will be replacing Tinina67's bookring.

Yes, Fluffy-Owl, I did enjoy this more than you. I actually found the bits about Hanna by far the best, and in some ways would have been satisfied with just her more realistic investigations and bits of family strife (ironically at the end, there is an interview with the author in which she says she had doubts about Australian Hanna's plausibility). I think it's the first book I've read that steadily goes backward in time, which felt strange. I found the bits in Italy and Spain rather too fanciful for my liking, but many things rang true, so this criticism is a small one. I like the way Geraldine Brooks has imagined a quite complex story around a real book. The story turned into a whole different genre towards the end which I hadn't been expecting. Not bad, but I preferred her non-fiction book "Foreign Correspondence".

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted today to CITIBELLE.

I was glad to be reminded in this book of some of the atrocities committed by the Spanish Inquisition, that had hardly had a mention in another book I've just read on Spain, "A Stranger in Spain".

Received today as part of a bookring. Thanks ETMADRID for sending this on. It looks fascinating, I shall start it as soon as I have finished my present read.

very glad I joined this ring as I enjoyed the book very much. The writing is rich and detailed especially in the multiple historical strands that make up the story, If I have any criticism it would be that the narrator doesn't quite involve the reader in the way other characters in the book do.

I will send on to next in ring asap.

Arrived safely in the post. Many thanks to Citibelle.

The author has a nice writing style, but I became bored with it about halfway through. As mentioned earlier, I also found the parts about Hanna to be the best.

Have pm'd Elldau1 to send it on.

Received at our village shop / post office today. The first BC book to come to our new home!

Looking forward to reading it but it will be after another ray.
Many thanks to Fluffy-Owl that the ring could continue it's journey after all.
Will PM Tinina67 to let her know I have it now.
*
Link to Tinina67's original ring:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6690730

and the original list of participants were:
perryfran, USA
Shroffland, USA
Maurean, USA
CynthiaA, Canada
lauraloo29, Canada
Natgirl101, Canada (aka jonaslover)
solskinn, Austria (prefers Europe) - asked to be skipped
ETMadrid, UK (post UK only) - Replacement copy
CITIBELLE, UK
j4neyo, UK
Elddau1, Australia (post Australia only)
bookseekerAT, Australia - asked to be skipped
amcamp1644, South Korea
elissamay, USA
cmaiers, USA
penelopewanders, Switzerland

and back to Tinina67, Australia

Just checking in to say I'm reading it still. Might be another week if that's ok. (Not had much reading time after our house move.)

Rating: 7.5*
I enjoyed the book very much by the end of it, but it started off scratchy for me. (Was it me or was it the book?) I had trouble remembering the different people and places and what happened where. And because the book is chronologically backwards I had to keep trying to get the timeline of the book straight in my head. A bit like that movie ‘Memento’. By half way through I was just wanting to get it read and sent on. Then something changed for me - was it because I was reading more consistently or because there was more of Hannah’s story? I really started to enjoy it and wanted to know what would happen next.

If it wasn’t for my troubled start I would have given this 8*.
It was a very good story and I was very interested to read the history of the book and to learn that the Sarajevo Haggadah really exists! I’m going to read Brooks' essay on the history of the Haggadah now. In the back of the book it gives Brooks’ website as a link to her 2007 ‘New Yorker’ essay ‘The Book of Exodus: A double rescue in wartime Sarajevo’ - www.geraldinebrooks.com . I’m fascinated with history and especially the story of people’s lives and the story behind artefacts.
_____

2Jun - waiting for bookseekerAT's address
8Jun - PMed again for address
9Jun - bookseekerAT wants to be skipped; requesting next address

(Sorry forgot to journal the release.)
It's now winging it's way to amcamp1644.
- Posted on Friday 18 June to Wheaton MD, USA.

Cheers and Happy Reading!

Got it today. Need to finish the book I'm reading now then I'll start this one.

I liked Brooks' other books better, but still a pretty good book. PMing the next person on the list.

Arrived today! Liked March and Year of Wonders, so high hopes for this.

Sometimes this book seemed less like a novel and more like a novel-shaped container for information about book preservation, Australian art, and Bosnian history, but it was still a pretty good read. Mailed on to the next in the ring!

Thanks, ElisaMay, for the book! I am reading it now and like it so far

I FINALLY finished this book. I'm not sure why it took me so long - the holidays got in the way, I suppose.
I enjoyed this book. I agree the bits about the Spanish inquisition were a bit long and tedious but I appreciate the author's imagination and what she set out to accomplish with this book. I would recommend it to others and may even read some of her other books.
Off to Switzerland. Thanks!

This arrived in the Alps today, where it will have to idle a bit as I am absolutely flat out work-wise and have another ring in front of it. I'll do what I can - at anyrate it has arrived here safely. Thanks so much for sending, I've been looking forward to this one for a while.

A friend had recommended this one ages ago so I signed up for a ring. Then it didn't come and didn't come... now it looks like the ring had been stalled somewhere along the way and was rescued by someone...
Quite the journey for a book about (among other things) a journey of a book. I found it very funny at times and also very moving; an excellent read.
Update January 2012
All right, this is mortifying - in response to my PM, I received a message that the next person would be moving to a new address, and being a cautious soul (well, sometimes) I thought I wouldn't send it until I was sure the move had taken place. So I put the book in a safe place and forgot all about it. I've just reconfirmed the address and will post it off as soon as possible. I am soooo sorry.

After a truly embarrassingly long time, this book is finally on its way. I was given an address that the next person would be moving to with instructions to wait - as this was just before I left several weeks on summer holiday the whole incident was blithely erased from my brain. When I stumbled across the book again , I did want to reconfirm that the person had indeed made the move and the address was correct. Now it is on its way, down from the Swiss Alps, to what I gather is the south of France. I apologize to all concerned and am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book.
Wishing everyone a wonderful 2012!

This book arrived safe and sound at home.
Thanks to everybody who participated!

Have a great 2012!