Review: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this trip backwards through time with the "Sarajevo Haggadah" -- a real book whose history Geraldine Brooks has fictionalized in "People of the Book." With a contemporary book scholar as our through-line and guide, various tiny clues held within the book flash us backwards through time where self-contained chapters illuminate each element. What held me back from loving the book were the somewhat thinly drawn characters, most of which we don't end up spending much time with, thanks to the high-concept and elaborate structure of the book.

More than any narrative or character, "People of the Book" is really about the inestimable value of books and the people who love and care for them. Indeed, Brooks dedicates her novel to "the librarians" -- but for me, the high concept wore a bit thin after awhile (back and forth, back and forth, item->explanation, item->explanation) and I didn't have any characters to cling to that I was fascinated by or particularly invested in.

At the same time, the different historical periods we visit as we follow the Haggadah back through time are all fascinating. It's always illuminating to put the ethnic/religious/cultural tensions we experience in the current day into a (much) larger historical context. And at the end of the day, this is a fun, slightly nerdy read that elevates the love of books to something primal, critical, essential. I love getting to wallow in that fetishistic passion for books, especially printed text.

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