People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks is worth the praise. Hanna Heath, an Australian rare book expert and conservationist, is called upon to analyze and conserve the famed Sarajevo Haggadah.
The Sarajevo Haggadah was created in the middle of the 14th century, the golden age of Spain. There are many theories about its creation and the identity of the artist who illuminated it. What is known is that there are two coats of arms, one representing a rose and the other a wing. The book is beautiful and has the mysterious history of a beautiful, unidentified woman. It is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images.
The Haggadah survived the Inquisition, the Second World War, the Bosnian War, and countless other close calls.
In Brooks’ novel, the Haggadah must also survive a form of repatriation.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Geraldine Brooks delivers a great unraveling.
People of the Book in Google Book Search
Geraldine Brooks
Penguin Books
People of the Book melds the known stories of the Haggadah with the imagined stories of Geraldine Brooks.