PEOPLE OF THE BOOK

There is nothing as satisfying as finding a book to read that is absolutely impossible to put down. Most of the time I find this in a non-fiction book, which makes it all the better when a delicious piece of fiction rises to that point. I don’t know where I was when this book first came out, but it certainly did not hit my radar screen. My daughter Kerry thought I might like it and loaned it to me. Gosh, was she correct! “Like” isn’t a strong enough word.

The focus of this story, “People of the Book” is on an actual book called the Sarajevo Haggadah. A Haggadah is like a Jewish "instruction manual" for properly performing the Seder, the festive meal that is the highlight of the Passover or Pesach festival. The central theme of a Haggadah is to narrate the story of the Jews’ Exodus from Egypt. The real Sarajevo Haggadah, which dates back to the 1480s, is unusual in that they are usually not illustrated, but this one is filled with rich, illuminated pictures, which makes it unique and priceless. And it also was saved during the Bosnian war because it was hidden by a Muslim museum librarian.

The above is fact. What Geraldine Brooks, the author, has done is to take this tiny portion of the book’s known history and make up a story about it, its origins, the people who handled it, how it moved from place to place during the intervening centuries. In Brooks’ book we become acquainted with people in Spain, Venice, Vienna and ultimately Sarajevo, into whose hands the book was passed. But in addition, the author builds a story around a young woman, an expert in rare books, who is called to authenticate this book that recently resurfaced, so there is much of modern times in this story too.

It is not a book about religion but religion plays a part in it. It is not a book about war, but throughout the lifetime of the book the wars are always there. It is not a history book, but on every page one finds history as an integral part of the story. I literally could not put this book down. When that happens, I tend to read too fast, and this book is already set aside for another read, although at a much slower pace this time. Now that I know what happens, I can take time to savor the details that I may have missed. I can’t wait to begin.