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ktrain3900 's review for:
People of the Book
by Geraldine Brooks
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book, inspired by the Sarajevo haggadah, was a page turner for me. There are 2 story lines: we follow Hanna, a book conservator, forward as she as travels from Australia to Bosnia to the US and England and so on, and we follow the book backward through time from Bosnia to Vienna to Italy and Spain, until both meet again at the end.
The best and most wonderful parts are the sections where we travel back through the past. The characters we meet there feel true to their times & places, and also like vanguards who would have a hand in such a special book (even if no one else sees it). These characters are deep and moving, the imagery is lovely, and the details are fine and painful. The parts in the present somehow feel less real, shallower, the characters less interesting and not fully fleshed, with our protagonist Hanna just not terribly sympathetic or likable despite some less than desirable life cirucmstances.
Overall, the writing and story are engrossing, and I want to read more by this author.
The best and most wonderful parts are the sections where we travel back through the past. The characters we meet there feel true to their times & places, and also like vanguards who would have a hand in such a special book (even if no one else sees it). These characters are deep and moving, the imagery is lovely, and the details are fine and painful. The parts in the present somehow feel less real, shallower, the characters less interesting and not fully fleshed, with our protagonist Hanna just not terribly sympathetic or likable despite some less than desirable life cirucmstances.
Overall, the writing and story are engrossing, and I want to read more by this author.