People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks: A True-to-Life Literary Mystery

Personal Rating:

“People of the Book” is an Islamic reference to Jews, Christians, and Sabians. However, many other religious denominations have also embraced the term to refer to themselves. 

People of the Book is also a bestselling novel by the American writer and journalist Geraldine Brooks. Indeed, it is a title apt for the historical masterpiece – a story of imagined events surrounding the real and extant Jewish illuminated manuscript. 

The Book That Survived

The story begins with Hanna Heath, a rare-book expert who was tasked to conserve the Sarajevo Haggadah (Hebrew for story, account). The priceless book is one of the earliest Jewish texts illuminated with images. Luckily, it was saved from the Bosnian war by the museum’s curator. 

Hanna discovers small artifacts in the course of conservation – an insect’s wing, white hair, wine stains, and salt crystals. From these fragments, she unlocks the book’s mysterious past of how it survived through centuries.

The Clues Across Centuries

The story moves back and forth from the protagonist’s present time to a specific period in history that narrates the events behind the discovered fragments. The book (and the reader) will travel many places across over five hundred years and meet several people with significant connections with the Haggadah. 

I like that only a few notable periods in history are featured, and the rest of the years in between remain a mystery. They are enough to pique your curiosity and will further satisfy you with rich detail and interesting characters.   

On the other hand, there are a few parts that I don’t find too relevant to the overall story. These are the scenes in the present time about the protagonist’s struggles with her family. It’s just not as convincing as I’d hoped. Nonetheless, the back-in-time parts are skillfully narrated.

Conflicts between religious, cultural, and political groups, and in some cases, social classes, can be throughout the novel. This makes the story feel more natural and the reader more invested.

Many critics compare this book with Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, while USA Today dubbed the novel as an erudite version of Brown’s book. People of the Book is, indeed, a mystery. However, I don’t think it is that suspenseful. But instead, more inclined to historical exploration on both a personal and objective scale.

The Historical Novelist

Geraldine Brooks is no stranger to book awards. She is also best known for the novel March, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2006, plus her nonfiction works as a foreign correspondent. 

People of the Book is one of her four international bestsellers – all cultural and historical fiction novels. It was published in 2008; it was awarded in the same year with the Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) Book of the Year and Literary Fiction Book of the Year. 

As expected from a journalist, Brooks delivered a well-researched piece. The Sarajevo Haggadah is an actual book that dates almost 600 years, and the novel’s afterword recounts the factual and fictional parts. Yet, until now, the Haggadah’s complete history remains unknown.  

Book About a Book

I recommend this novel to those who like bibliomysteries, books about books, Jewish historical fiction, or historical fiction in general. And also to readers of Nelson DeMille, Elizabeth Kostova, and Anita Diamant. If you enjoy a creative spin on true accounts of religion and history, I invite you to read People of the Book.

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