And another book read

[rhu]

Over Shabbat I read "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks. It's historical fiction, using the real-life story of the Sarajevo Haggaddah as a jumping-off point to visit various periods in (mostly Jewish) history. Very well-written, it paints (so to speak) a series of vivid pictures.

But it is a bit of a downer. If I had to summarize, I'd have to quote the Haggaddah. "And thus has it been for our ancestors and for us. Not only once, but in generation after generation there have been those who arose to destroy us."

I need something happy-making and uplifting to read next.

Comments

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I've read that! I liked it a lot.

I really need to make myself a reading-themed icon without a celebrity in it. So much of my LJ is residual from my fourteen-year-old self.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

I loved her books March and Year of Wonders. Neither is terribly uplifting, but both are well researched and beautifully told. I'll put People of the Book on my [steadily growing] reading list.

Have you read Michael Chabon's new book about fatherhood? I'm halfway through it and finding it entertaining and occasionally insightful.

Out of curiosity, have you read any Shalom Auslander? I really like his writing, but I wonder how he comes off to someone who's actually observant.

[saphir23.livejournal.com]

I heard Geraldine Brooks speak in November. She was a very interesting speaker -- she was a journalist for a number of years, including in the Middle East, the Balkans, and the Persian Gulf, and that background has clearly influenced her fiction-writing career. She converted to Judaism upon her marriage to Jewish journalist Tony Horwitz. She spoke quite a lot about People of the Book in particular, how she came to write it, the extensive research she did, and how she came up with the novel's structure.

I usually try to read at least one of the author's books before the lecture. I had gotten Year of Wonders out of the library, started reading it, but just wasn't in the mood to read about the Great Plague (as H1N1 news was heating up). So I returned it and got People of the Book instead. Got about halfway through, but then had to return it to the library as someone else had it reserved. I'm planning to get back to it and read the rest soon. (I have one more author to read for this year's lecture series.) March also sounds intriguing.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I have a reproduction copy of the Sarajevo if you'd ever like to look at it (gift from an ex).