I bought this hardback at the Scholastic Book Fairs warehouse sale yesterday. I loved Year of Wonders and look forward to reading more of Brooks's writing. From the jacket:

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.

Just finished this one. It was quite interesting, and I love Brooks's writing. I don't think this gripped me as much as Year of Wonders or March but it was very good nonetheless.

I found myself frustrated by how much of the book's story Hanna will never know, but that is the way it is with history. I was relieved at her last discovery, however, and hope it will lead her to more insight into the history of the book. The afterword, with it's details about Brooks's research and the story of the real Haggadah, was interesting as well.

Another good one from Geraldine Brooks. I will mark as available until I find a suitable release.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Sent this in a box of other books as a Goodwill donation. Happy travels!