“People
of the Book”
by Geraldine Brooks
c.2008, Viking • $25.95 / $31.00 Canada • 372 pages
The
next time you hold something old – an antique, an heirloom, an artifact –
imagine the stories it could tell if it could talk.
Someone
bought that item new, or made it for a beloved. Maybe it was carried across
continents or states, tucked in a backpack or spirited beneath petticoats. No
matter where the thing was or where it came from, it takes some serious
sleuthing to find out the story of that which you hold in your hand.
Hannah
Heath is a detective of sorts, specializing in antique books. In “People of the
Book” by Geraldine Brooks, an old manuscript tells Hannah a story, and it’s not
just the one printed on the pages.
It
was the first illustrated manuscript discovered, and it rocked the antiquities
world when it was found. Because Jewish belief forbade lush drawings in prayer
books, the so-called Sarajevo Haggadah, created in
medieval Spain with vivid colors and detailed drawings, was rare and precious
beyond description. It was the jewel of Bosnia, recently saved from the ravages
of war. The U.N. asked rare book expert Hannah Heath to examine the ancient
volume and to ensure that it deteriorates no further.
Carefully
aware that politics are at the heart of this career-making assignment, Hannah
questions why she was chosen. Surely her former mentor, Werner Heinrich, would
have wanted to hold the Haggadah in his hands. Amitai Yomtov, one of the most
brilliant men in the field, would have leaped at the chance to examine it.
Even
the Haggadah’s kustos
(custodian), Ozren Karaman,
was a more obvious choice.
But
the U.N. wants Hannah, so she carefully unwraps the Haggadah and finds a mystery. A small fragment of insect
wing is imbedded in the book’s folds. There’s a trace of salt. A stain (wine?)
mars a page corner. Holes were made for clasps, but clasps are missing. And
curiously, an ebony-skinned woman is depicted in the illustrations, which
defies what’s known about culture at the time the book was made.
Meant
for Seder, the Haggadah holds more than prayers. If
the book could talk, it would tell stories of war and persecution, sickness,
bravery, and love. With her own personal problems distracting her, will Hannah
listen?
“People of the Book” starts out slowly; so
slowly that I wasn’t sure I could make it through almost 400 pages. There’s a
lot of set-up to make the story work, and not much happens for the first couple
of segments. In the end, I was glad I stuck it out.
With
time-framing reminiscent of “Pulp Fiction;” some factual history; the existence
of a real book; and a fictional character who is increasingly easy to like,
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks takes you on a five-century trip
from Bosnia to Venice, Vienna to Spain, inside mosques and Getos,
churches and torture chambers. And with a list like that, what’s not to love?
If
you like historical mysteries, antique-hunting, or “The DaVinci
Code,” pick up “People of the Book.”
This
book-about-a-book is a double delight for anyone who craves the written word.