Disappointing
This was, surprisingly, a bad book. The main character was highly unlikable and never grew out of her unlikability, and all the other characters seemed like cardboard cutouts who never came alive. The dialogue was stilted and the historical vignettes never really seemed like more than fingernail sketches; I couldn't get into anybody's stories. Finally, each of the "revelations" about the book were heavy-handed and carried out with creaking slowness.
People of the Book
I was surprised at the end of the book to find out that this author also wrote The Year of Wonders which I did not enjoy at all. I'm glad to say I had a much higher opinion of People of the Book: A Novel.
As I was reading the book I alternated between thinking this was a great book and thinking I would never get through it. Each chapter told a short story that explained each artifact that Hanna found. Like when she was pursuing the clue about the insect wing we got a short story that went back in history to explain where the wing came from. I found some of these stories gripping and I couldn't wait to finish them and others felt like they were dragging on.
I know that this is supposed to imitate real life so of course not everything ... Read More
Too Gruesome
Well, call me a weanie but I didn't finish People of the Book: A Novel. To be sure, it is beautifully crafted and well written, but each of the stories is more depressing and more gruesome than the last. When I got to detailed descriptions of the Inquisition, I put People of the Book: A Novel back on the shelf for good.
Not Good Enough for Readers of the Book
Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book is a good story, full of everything I like: history and mystery, religion and bravery, and a good dose of female heroism. But the chapters read unevenly, with fast-paced and engaging passages followed by leaden and clichéd portrayals, especially the chapter devoted to the Jewish Partisans fighting under Tito and the absolutely ridiculously written chapter set in turn of the century Vienna (the dialog alone, both the interior words of the narrator and the words he exchanges with others, had me hooting in disbelief).
Not that any of Brooks' writing is entirely free of clichés or hackneyed phrasing and pacing. Her writing is suitable to the telling of a story but not for sketching a genuine moment ... Read More
As mesmerizing as the cover art
People of the Book: A Novel is the author's best book. As with her other books, her voice immediately immerses the reader in the story. But the strength of the story interwoven among the story of the prior book's owners is a wonderful creative flair that Ms. Brooks has not previously shown us. Read this to find out what has happened to the previous book owners, the history of Jewish people in Southern Europe, and an interesting Australian rare book expert.
