People of the Book (novel)

Infobox Book
name = People of the Book
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Geraldine Brooks
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Historical fiction
publisher = Viking Adult
pub_date = January 1, 2008
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (hardcover)
pages = 384 pages
isbn = 067001821X
oclc =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

People of the Book is a 2008 historical fiction novel by Geraldine Brooks. The story focuses on an imagined history of the Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the oldest surviving Jewish illuminated texts.cite news |author=Susan Kelly|title='People of the Book': An erudite 'Da Vinci Code' |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2008-01-09-peope-of-the-book_N.htm |format= |work= |publisher=USA Today|accessdate=2008-02-02 ] The novel has been compared to Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code", with USA Today calling it an erudite version of Brown's work, while other reviewers have noted that it is slower paced. [] [cite news |author=Jessica Marsden |title=‘People of the Book’ still no ‘Da Vinci Code’ |url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/23021 |publisher=Yale Daily News |date=2008-01-18 |accessdate=2008-02-02 ] The novel tells the fictional story of Hanna Heath, a book conservationist who is responsible for restoring the Haggadah. The story alternates between sections set in the present day with Heath and other sections showing the history of the Haggadah. [ cite news |author=Lisa Fugard |title= All the World’s a Page|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/books/review/Fugard-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=People+of+the+Book&st=nyt&oref=slogin |publisher=The New York Times|date=2008-01-20 |accessdate=2008-02-02 |language= |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= ]

Told in reverse chronological order, it follows the book backward in time from war-torn Sarajevo back through the centuries as it travels across Europe, from the hands of one owner to another. Meanwhile, it follows clues like missing notebook clasps, preserved butterfly remnants, and other stains and spots over the years which are all eventually explained and play a part in the history of the book.

Awards

*2008: The Australian Publishers Association's Literary Fiction Book of the Year for "People of the Book" [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/books/brooks-wins-book-of-the-year-award/2008/06/15/1213468236048.html "Brooks wins Book of the Year award" in "The Sydney Morning Herald" 2008-06-15] ]

References