Most people who like books will enjoy a story about a “book detective” – a female Australian book curator/restorer who discovers many cultural and micMost people who like books will enjoy a story about a “book detective” – a female Australian book curator/restorer who discovers many cultural and microscopic mysteries when she is hired to restore a Haggadah, a book of prayers used during the Jewish Passover Seder. The author takes us back in history to see explanations for these details that the restorer can only guess at.
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As you might expect, it’s a tale of both beauty and horror ranging from the 1400s to the present. The book restoration is taking place in Sarajevo and the protagonist gets involved with a Bosnian man who is taking care of his son who was wounded during conflicts in the Balkans. We learn some about that area’s recent grim history.
We follow the book restorer’s bitter, embattled relationship with her mother. (I think I saw them on Jerry Springer, lol.) This leads to a startling revelation for the young woman. (view spoiler)[ She didn’t know that she herself is Jewish. (hide spoiler)]
So we have at least four story themes: book detective, mother-daughter feud, happenings in modern Bosnia, and the bulk of the book: the Jewish diaspora starting with the Spanish Inquisition. It is quite well knit together.
We also get a very insightful reading of the landscapes where the action in the book takes place: Bosnia, Boston, London and Australia. (I say this as a retired geography professor.)
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The author (b. 1955 in Australia) covered the Balkan war as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. She has written a half-dozen novels, some best-sellers. Her most widely read book on GR is Year of Wonders about a young woman in England during the plague year of 1666.
Photo of a Haggadah from judaicawebstore.com Photo of the author from prhspeakers.com
[Revised, spoilers hidden, shelves added 5/26/22 and 12/16/23]...more
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