I couldn't really remember what I had read on the book jacket way back when. I was kinda thinking it would be another Da Vinci Code... Brilliant academic at the top of his/her field finds lost treasure and is chased around the world by evildoers out to erase history... Suspense and terror enfold ... Or something. That's not really it at all.
The premise of People of the Book is that a brilliant academic at the top of her field (umm, ok) -- an archivist specializing in ancient books -- is assigned with restoring the Sarajevo Haggadah, a very rare Jewish religious text that has survived many centuries and crossed many paths. She discovers a series of artifacts in the binding of the book and through these is able to trace the book's history. It's impossible not to make some Da Vinci Code comparisons, but generally I think this book stands out on its own as a really enjoyable and interesting read.
What really got me was that the Sarajevo Haggadah is REAL. Some of the things that happen in the book are REAL. Brooks created a fictionalized tale about the history of this amazing book based on actual historical proof. That’s pretty awesome. Read more about the real Sarajevo Haggadah here.
While I was reading this book, I actually had an opportunity to visit the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. To see real life history first hand, to see the way Christians, Muslims and Jews have been interacting and even depending on each other for centuries, to see the importance of the preservation and exploration of history -- in the context of reading this book -- was really great. I definitely recommend both the book and the exhibit (the dinosaurs at the ROM are pretty sweet, too).
A page from the actual Sarajevo Haggadah. It's so pretty...
I'm reading this now!
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