Geraldine Brooks

When it falls to Australian rare book expert Hanna Heath to conserve this priceless work, the tiny artifacts she discovers in its ancient binding—a butterfly wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—only begin to unlock the book’s deep mysteries and unexpectedly plunges Hanna into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics.

A Novel

People of the Book

Reading through the chapters felt like riding a wave of emotions, especially as the flashbacks began to make sense once I reached the perspective of the original artist of the haggadah. Her life as a Muslim was portrayed with honesty and grace, beautifully aligning with her intentions to capture the Jewish account of God’s creation and document the lives of the Jewish family who took her in, loved her as one of their own, and gave her refuge. This bond enabled the creation of a cultural artifact that endures even today—so significant in its historical value that it rightfully belongs in a museum. Her story moved me deeply; it was both tragic and touching. Yet, there was a sense of relief in knowing that she found solace and a safe place among the Jewish family she cherished, making her life’s journey feel complete.

The book's structure, with its scattered narratives, may make it challenging to link chapters seamlessly. However, the way Zahra Al-Tarek’s painting, A White Hair (Seville, 1480), ties the story together near the end elevates the narrative. I was captivated by how vividly each location was described—Brooks’ prose painted every detail with such precision that it felt as if she had visited these places herself. The descriptions were so rich and tangible that I often had to pause to savor the sensations they evoked, as though I, too, were transported through time and space. I found myself highlighting numerous lines that resonated deeply, as if I could almost touch and absorb their essence with my senses.

On a different note, Hanna’s relationship with her mother stirred an uncomfortable sense of unease. The tension between them was palpable, and I couldn’t help but imagine the emotional toll on a child treated the way Hanna was. Their eventual separation added to this sorrowful dynamic. However, this subplot occasionally felt disconnected from Hanna’s high-profile work of preserving the haggadah, which made it harder to stay fully immersed in the main storyline.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book overall. While it holds a special place for its intricate storytelling and emotional depth, I must admit that I still prefer 

, Brooks’ most recent work, for its cohesiveness and even greater resonance.

🏹

I have spent many nights, lying awake in this room, thinking that the haggadah came to Sarajevo for a reason. It was here to test us, to see if there were people who could see that what united us was more than what divided us. That to be human being matters more than to be a Jew or a Muslim, Catholic or Orthodox.

Reading through the chapters felt like riding a wave of emotions, especially as the flashbacks began to make sense once I reached the perspective of the original artist of the haggadah. Her life as a Muslim was portrayed with honesty and grace, beautifully aligning with her intentions to capture the Jewish account of God’s creation and document the lives of the Jewish family who took her in, loved her as one of their own, and gave her refuge. This bond enabled the creation of a cultural artifact that endures even today—so significant in its historical value that it rightfully belongs in a museum. Her story moved me deeply; it was both tragic and touching. Yet, there was a sense of relief in knowing that she found solace and a safe place among the Jewish family she cherished, making her life’s journey feel complete.

The book's structure, with its scattered narratives, may make it challenging to link chapters seamlessly. However, the way Zahra Al-Tarek’s painting, A White Hair (Seville, 1480), ties the story together near the end elevates the narrative. I was captivated by how vividly each location was described—Brooks’ prose painted every detail with such precision that it felt as if she had visited these places herself. The descriptions were so rich and tangible that I often had to pause to savor the sensations they evoked, as though I, too, were transported through time and space. I found myself highlighting numerous lines that resonated deeply, as if I could almost touch and absorb their essence with my senses.

On a different note, Hanna’s relationship with her mother stirred an uncomfortable sense of unease. The tension between them was palpable, and I couldn’t help but imagine the emotional toll on a child treated the way Hanna was. Their eventual separation added to this sorrowful dynamic. However, this subplot occasionally felt disconnected from Hanna’s high-profile work of preserving the haggadah, which made it harder to stay fully immersed in the main storyline.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book overall. While it holds a special place for its intricate storytelling and emotional depth, I must admit that I still prefer Horse, Brooks’ most recent work, for its cohesiveness and even greater resonance.

Laura Mauler

Loved it.
Easily moved into position as one of my favorite books of all time.

momo-reads

I was ready to love this based on premise and recommendation alone.  I did love some chapters/characters but really hated others; it's tough to get invested in a story when the main characters are unbelievable.

Sarah Ryan

Discovered this lying forgotten on a bookshelf in the house. Really enjoyed the interweaving narratives of modern day conservationist Hanna Heath with the prior throw the ages that had come into contact in variations ways with the book. Historical fictions meets arts and science.

Jenni Pertuset

Oh, oh, can you help me? I just read the first page of this on Amazon and it reminded me of a book that entranced me several years ago. I'll give you a prize if you can help me find the book. What I remember: a traveling researcher or restoration specialist in China who describes her approach to memory as like a house with many rooms, and to retrieve a memory she must mentally walk into that room. What is it?

Carroll Lachnit

I want to love this book. So far, I don't. It's been a long time since I read  The Source by  James Michener, but the structure and approach are similar. So far, that was a much MUCH better book. It's a shame,too, because I really like Brooks' previous novel,  March.

Melody Izard

OK, there’s no getting around that there are some Da Vinci Code similarities. I know that will keep some from wanting to read it right there – so let’s just get that over with. But for those of you who liked the DVC or at least didn’t hate it, this is a pretty good read. Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert is asked to stabilize the famed Sarajevo Haggadah that has just been rescued from destruction during the Bosnian war. She finds some tiny little clues to the past owners of the holy book and becomes obsessed with figuring out what they mean. We get her story and the possible explanation of the origin and path the book has traveled. The story gets a little bogged down at times – and some of the occurrences are not very believable – but still, I enjoyed it.

Regina Corley 

A novel from the author of ‘March’ and ‘Year of Wonders’ takes place in the aftermath of the Bosnian War, as a young book conservator arrives in Sarajevo to restore a lost treasure.

window

Interesting premise, great characters, well-written. 

The main part of the story takes place in the mid-1990s in war-torn Sarajevo as book conservationist Hanna travels there from her native Australia to work on the Sarajevo Haggadah, the oldest surviving Jewish illuminated manuscript, which contains the traditional text that accompanies the Passover Seder. Brooks's history of the Haggadah is fiction based loosely on fact but the book itself is real. 

Hanna discovers many interesting things in the Haggadah, including an Alpine insect wing, a non-kosher wine stain, a white cat hair, and saltwater. Hanna notes that a very intricate and decorative clasp is missing from the book. The book is also full of elaborate illuminations, which are apparently very unusual in a haggadah. One of the paintings portrays a well-dressed dark-skinned woman standing with a white family - for all appearances, a slave in what looks like a family portrait. Hanna sets out to solve the mystery of how these odd items came to be in the book, as well as to figure out what happened to the clasp and who the slave woman is.

While Hanna comes close to solving a few of the mysteries, the real story of each of the items is told in a series of short stories within the main narrative. The author alternates between the present-day and the short stories. Each short story goes back further in time and retraces the places the book has been, the people who intereacted with it and how they protected the book and themselves against those who would destroy them over religious differences. Each of the short stories are so well done that any of them could probably be developed into a full story on their own. I found myself wishing to read more about many of them.

At the core of the story is the sad truth that people have been persecuting each other over differences in religion throughout history all the way up through the "ethnic cleansing" in Sarajevo. And of course, religious persecution continues today. The book really struck a chord with me in both the senselessness of killing people over religion as well as the fact that humankind appears doomed to perpetuate such senselessness.

Ben Nathan

This book was a pure WOW. Absolutely riveting. Brilliantly written. Engrossing story well designed. I just can't say enough good stuff about it. It definitely goes down as one that I will be recommending. The reader was great too.

People of the Book A Novel

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