Purlewe: Book 5: People of the Book by G. Brooks

I happened upon this book by accident. I was visiting my aunt in SC last yr in January. She asked me if I had any problems with going to her bookclub while I was with her. She handed me this book and told me to read as much as I could before the meeting.

I have to say I was hooked right away. I only got about 180 pages in before we went to the meeting, but I knew I wanted to finish it. I love books about books. I love books that have characters going back in history, each with their own voice and story. This book was right up my alley.

A facinating tale of a book conservator, Hanna, who helps document and conserve the Sarajevo Haggadah. [This book is fiction, but is based on the amazing premise of the real Haggadah surviving these 600+ yrs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_Ha... ] She finds things inside the book's binding that help her trace back the story of the book. A butterfly wing, a piece of hair, a wine stain.. all of these take you to another place in history with the book.

I don't think everyone will enjoy this story.. It does have a surprise twist at the end that completely suprised me. I enjoyed the twist, but I don't even know if the story needed it. The book's history was full of adventure all on its own.

I loved how the Sarajevo Haggadah was the central pole to a many smaller stories. Brooks is a master story teller that has you interested in each section of the book. It kept me fully interested even while reading the first 180 pages a second time. I have heard good things about her other books (both fiction and non-fiction). I will definitely be reading more of her.

December 2013

Comments

I too loved People of the Book! Such a gripping read. I agree with you about the twist at the end, though - seemed unnecessary to me. Kind of like the big gun drama at the end of Titanic. It's like "the ship is sinking and thousands will die...is that not enough drama for you?"

Posted by: Roro | February 01, 2011 at 04:55 PM