Tag Archives: geraldine brooks

Lists: Best Books Read in 2011 – # 6

Best Books Read in 2011

6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

An exquisite, unique and very old book, a story that is part truth and part skillful invention, and beautiful writing. Need I say more?

Original Review

7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett


Review: People of the Book

People of the BookPeople of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

People of the Book is a stunningly beautiful book about another stunningly beautiful book. It fictionalizes the true story of the Sarajevo Haggadah, a unique, 500-year old version of a book read at Jewish Passover Seders. It illustrates the story of how and why Passover came to be. People of the Book looks at the fascinating story of the Haggadah’s travels through the years and creates a story from them. All of the characters are fictional and some of the chapters are admittedly entirely fiction while others contain more factual information. While reading I did not care at all which was which and I am not certain I do now. Geraldine Brooks.ostensibly tells the story of a book, but as the title hints, what she really tells is the story of a people.

View all my reviews