What Goodread says: “From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, the journey of a rare illuminated prayer book through centuries of war, destruction, theft, loss, and love.”
What I thought: After having read the blurb on the back and not being particularly keen to pick this book up for a few weeks, when I finally did I couldn’t put it down.
I found this book a really gripping and actually left me pining to pick it up and carry on reading when I had other stuff to do (work mainly – how inconvenient!). This is the story of Hanna, an Australian rare book expert who gets the fantastic opportunity to work on the Sarajevo Haggadah (which has been missing for decades). From here (between the story of Hanna and her discoveries) we are treated to a feast of life in cities such as Vienna, Venice, Barcelona and Seville ranging over more than 5 centuries. I absolutely loved these stories and meeting the people in them and ultimately making the connection between them and how the book ended up in its next home.
I really did enjoy this book; I found it not only incerdibly interesting but also a great story that kept making me want to read on (I love books that make me not want to put them down). I recommend this book highly.
I love the concept of this book, but I was a tiny bit worried it couldn’t live up to the premise. Good to know I don’t need to worry about that!
Jenny, I really enjoyed it. There are so many different parts of history that it’s like having 5 books in one!