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Book Review of People of the Book

People of the Book
natalietahoe avatar reviewed on + 70 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 16


It is easy to see why Catherine Zeta-Jones purchased the rights of this book to turn it into a movie. One of the best books I have ever read -- Geraldine Brooks writes an amazing story of one very special book, and the lives of the people that may have touched it. Weaving a fictional story based on true events, "People of the Book" moves through the present day of a book restorer, who is asked to work on the Haggadah, a Jewish book on display in Sarajevo, saved by a Muslim historian in World War II, potentially through the Spanish Inquisition, and also potentially saved in the Jewish Ghettoes of Venice. I sawy "potentially" as the author has created additional plot lines that help explain certain items that are in the book that are found by the book restorer -- a butterfly wing, salt, wine, etc. She has created a fictional account of each of the hands that have come into contact with the book, and what life may have been like during their times. Each section is fluidly written, and the adventure that the book takes is unbelievable, and the ending is amazing. The present day main character is a young woman with her own history of family troubles, and it is well told. I ended up researching even more on the Haggadah and am amazed by it; research about it as well, and you will be all the better for it!