"The People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks

It was copyrighted 4 years ago.
The People of the Book

The novel tells the fictional story of Hanna Heath, an Australian book conservator who is responsible for restoring the Haggadah. The story alternates between sections set in the present day with Heath and other sections showing the history of the Haggadah.[2]

Told in reverse chronological order, the story follows the Haggadah backward in time as it travels across Europe, from war-torn Sarajevo to the book's origins. It also explains such clues as missing silver clasps, preserved butterfly remnants, and various stains and spots, which are all eventually explained as part of the manuscript's long history.

This book I found on the shelf in my studio. It deals with medieval (15th century) problems between Islam (the Moors in Spain), Judaism (through several centuries), and Christianity (including the Inquisition and their burning of books....in particular how the rabbis and priests were actually friends, all sinners in some form or another)....

I'm just wondering if any of you who traverse this forum have read it. I find it to be very, very eye-opening to the state of religious intolerance (and tolerance, including mutual listening between rabbis and priests, plus political issues of religious importance) some 500 or so years ago.

I urge you perusers of this forum to pick it up and read it. I hope we can talk, then, about how for 100s of years there have been people who were willing to "look away" from dogma in order for all of them to survive. Mutual respect included.

Anyway; just a thought. Don't expect much traffic here, but;......it's still a conspiracy in religion, keeping us all "antagonistic"....

We have to just get along, folks.
Please.

Just hoping someone out there gets it......
~wild

reply to post by wildtimes


It sounds really interesting, if I get to it I'll come back ...Have you ever read "An Instance of the Fingerpost" by Iain Pears? I think you would like it, it's 16th century Oxford, deals with tension between the Church and new scientific ideas, plot driven by a murder mystery.

The People of the Book sounds like something I would enjoy. I'll put it in my cue.

reply to post by Pilot

Have you ever read "An Instance of the Fingerpost" by Iain Pears?

I have not, but thanks for the recommendation!!
Have you read "The Monk"....by Matthew B. Lewis? Another very intriguing story about priests gone rogue....
thanks again for responding!

reply to post by wildtimes


Thanks!! I'll see if the library has it, I'm maxed out on Amazon for the time being.