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ensiy's review against another edition
4.0
A thoughtful reflection on religion, roots, identity, family, and fate. Set against the backdrop of both old Jerusalem and modern-day Israel, alternating between the past and present, The Genizah at the House of Shepher explores all those themes through Shulamit and ends with a warm self-awareness.
bookrec's review against another edition
1.0
Maybe I didn't have enough angst to finish this book. It was slow getting to a point. Maybe I would have liked it if I finished it but it just didn't hold my attention when I have other books calling my name.
anatomydetective's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this novel. I was hoping for deeper meditation on the translation of religious texts and a more interesting use of the text within the novel itself. Instead I got a choppy, over-written and slow novel.
lottpoet's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
sockielady's review against another edition
3.0
I guess I was expecting it to be more about the mysterious Torah Codex and less about the family in whose attic the Codex was discovered. That being said, it was still a good story, one of those multi-generational family sagas along the lines of Isabel Allende's House of the Spirits. The writing had a very wry, dry humor to it, and oftentimes what the author didn't say was just as evocative as what she did say.
devrose's review against another edition
2.0
The book is less about the mystery of the genizah and more about the history of the Shepher family, and I found that once it got to the more recent Shephers their lives weren't actually interesting. Near the end I started skipping the recent-history chapters and just reading the now chapters.
panxa's review
A novel the jumped between the ostensible main character in modern time and her various predecessors (grandfather, great-grandfather, etc). None of the various narrations held much interest for me.
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