Book Review: People of the Book

I won’t pretend that this book will grab everyone, but it sure did grab me. Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks put together a story tapping into multiple interests of mine, based on my life in the last 15 years (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t personal, given that I’d never heard of her until I was given People of the Book as a parting gift from one of my parents). Set at least partially in Bosnia as the war is winding down and concerning the (his)story of the medieval Sarajevo Haggadah (an actual book starring in a novel), it hit a trifecta.

Because it’s the first “real” book I’ve read in a long while (most of my time has been spent on lots of YA fiction, non-fiction history and biography, the occasional “beach” read, and The Week, which IMO is the best news weekly going), I also appreciated a story with multi-layered characters (none of whom are American, by the way) and a complex plot that bounces between centuries.

The journey of this manuscript from its creation in Spain before the expulsion of the Jews, through its survival of the Inquisition (it wasn’t only people who were destroyed), the Nazis of World War II, and the Bosnian War, its double-rescue by a couple Muslim academics from each of the latter conflicts, and the historical search for the truth of its journey (with some CSI science thrown in), made it an exciting read. I loved the message that, despite conflicts and biases, who we are and what we value is the result of the intersection of multiple cultures over centuries, and that we cannot selectively destroy even small pieces of that identity without negatively altering our own.

I also admit that at least part of the book’s appeal was that it was so thoughtfully chosen for me, recognizing my background and interests. That it was a heartfelt gift certainly made me pick up a book that I would have never chosen on my own, but when added to my connection with both the St. Louis Bosnian and Jewish communities in the last decade and a half, and finally combined with my appreciation of the intersecting threads of history.... What a great read for me.