People of the Book
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People of the Book
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Narrated by:
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Edwina Wren
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By:
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Geraldine Brooks
About this listen
In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding-an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair-she begins to unlock the book's mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book's journey from its salvation back to its creation.
In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the book becomes a pawn in the struggle against the city's rising anti-Semitism. In inquisition-era Venice, a Catholic priest saves it from burning. In Barcelona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text sees his family destroyed by the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah's extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed. Hanna's investigation unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics. Her experiences will test her belief in herself and the man she has come to love.
Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity, an ambitious, electrifying work by an acclaimed and beloved author.
©2008 Geraldine Brooks (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing Pty LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
What listeners say about People of the Book
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. REP
- 06-11-10
Fascinating.
I loved this book, it was a fantastic listen.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-10-24
A really good story… wonderfully read
I found it totally absorbing, and believable and involving. I look to read other books written by this author
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tami
- 09-01-18
Absolutely enthralling
This is one of the best books I have read in a very long time...a must-read for anyone who enjoys adventure, history, romance and slice of life vinettes.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Jane Shepherd
- 27-04-10
enthralling, a wonderful story
I normally choose thrillers by writers such as Lee Child, Thomas Perry etc but I was intrigued by the story of this novel so decided to try it out. I loved it, thought the author's way of telling the story with flashbacks linked to particular discoveries made by her book conservator character was really good. She made me feel I was there with her characters, living through some harrowing experiences which made me both uncomfortable for the tormented and angry at the tormentors and reminded me how hateful humans can be to those of different races or beliefs. The narrator was good overall, easy to listen to although some of the accents she gave certain characters were slightly irritating. People of the Book was a change of style for me and one that I am very glad I chose to listen to. It was a detective story about the origins of and journeys undertaken by this Jewish book and I was fascinated by the afterword which related how Geraldine Brooks came to write this story of the Sarajevo Haggadah, based on fact and how much help she had from all sorts of experts. Riveting.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CudMum
- 02-09-18
Great driving listening
The narrator is magical, wonderful pace and voices. Brilliant story and fascinating true background story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- J
- 25-05-10
Enjoyable and worthwhile listen.
I loved the mixture of fact and fiction with the time slips to show the possible journey of the book, linking the findings of the restorer to events in the books history. This book made me aware of the struggles of people when they are diplaced from their homeland. On occasions the accents grated but not enough to stop me listening.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Irene
- 20-09-16
Inspiring story
I really liked the intertwined stories. The intermittently shrill voice and absurd accented of the reader were somehow distracting
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 26-12-21
wonderful mix of fact and fiction
The people of the book are people I wish I could get to know better. They are strong willed, intelligent, special and human. This book touches on the lives of those who touched and made The Book and kept it alive. They are above all people, not Jews or Catholics or Muslims, but people. Just so with this book, which is above all a celebration of Art and the human will to preserve and create Art. A hair, a butterly wing, a stain form proof of all those stories locked in those ancient pages. I loved listening to this artful celebration of art!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Raija Koli
- 17-02-19
Great book
An fantastic story about a book’s journey through historical time and geographical space. Well read, too, but WHY the silly, annoying accents of non-English speakers who speak in their own language??? Very distracting.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maurice
- 13-09-18
An extraordinary story!
A wonderful story, and for this expatriate Aussie, brilliantly narrated - home thoughts from abroad
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