The People of the Book

I bought The People of the Book after Karen Amason recommended it to me. She always has great book ideas. I had a difficult time getting into Geraldine Brooks' newest novel. I loved her other two books - but this one had a slow beginning.

As usual, I stuck with the 100 page rule, and I was not wrong. I LOVED the book. The heroine of the novel is a book archaeologist - way cool job. She is given a book to chronicle. In her studies of the book, she begins to imagine the deep history. The novel is based on the truth that a rare Jewish manuscript was saved twice by Muslims in the past 4 centuries - and once by a Catholic priest during the Inquistions. Taking this truth, Brooks wove a story behind each "mark" on the book. The novel opens in current day and unwinds to the origin of the book.

Brooks commands the language and her word choice is exquisite. Words lift from the page and become the description. When that happens, I, as a reader, feel joy! The fault in the book lies in the cheesy twisted ending which I hated. Hannah's story running throughout the book is the weakest piece, but I was still satisfied with the book as a whole.

In our bookclub, we discussed the idea of books having their own story beyond that of the words. I was able to express my desire that one day the books that I own would tell some of the story of my life. My story interwoven in the stories.