FROM THE author of the Richard and Judy listed ‘March’, People of the Book crosses continents and centuries to bring stories of hope amidst darkness‚ compassion amidst cruelty‚ all bound together by the discoveries made by a young Australian woman restoring an ancient Hebrew book.
When Hanna Heath gets a call in the middle of the night in her Sydney home about a precious medieval manuscript that has been recovered from the ruins of war-torn Sarajevo‚ she knows she is on the brink of the experience of a lifetime.
A renowned book conservator‚ she must now make her way to Bosnia to start work on restoring the Sarajevo Haggadah − a Jewish prayer book − to discover its secrets and piece together the story of its miraculous survival. The trip will also set in motion a series of events that threaten to rock Hanna’s orderly life‚ including her encounter with Ozren Karamen‚ the young librarian who risked his life to save the book.
Her fractious relationship with her mother, a brain surgeon who was rarely present during Hanna’s upbringing in a single parent family, is deeply affected by the revelations brought about by a fatal car crash and Hanna discovers the identity of her father.We accompany the book, chapter by chapter, on its journey through life, back to the 14th century when it was first made and thereafter with the lives of each new owner – the journey revealing in fascinating detail everyday life and events during that period in history.
This is a moving, well-written and meticulously researched novel that provides a satisfying read.
