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  • People of the Book

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Geraldine Brooks
  • Narrated by: Edwina Wren
  • Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (27 ratings)

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People of the Book cover art

People of the Book

Written by: Geraldine Brooks
Narrated by: Edwina Wren
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Publisher's Summary

DUBLIN Literary Award winner

Short-listed, Harold U. Ribalow Prize

Indies Choice Book Award nominee

Library of Vermont Literary Award Finalist

Mary Shelly Award winner

Winner of the New England Book Award for Fiction

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

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.

Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity by an acclaimed and beloved author. Called "a tour de force"by the San Francisco Chronicle, this ambitious, electrifying work traces the harrowing journey of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illuminated Hebrew manuscript created in 15th-century Spain.

When it falls to Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, to conserve this priceless work, the series of tiny artifacts she discovers in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—only begin to unlock its deep mysteries and unexpectedly plunges Hanna into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics.

©2008 Geraldine Brooks (P)2008 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

“There’s romance between Brooks and the world, and her writing is as full of heart and curiosity as it is intelligence and judgement.”The Boston Globe

“Intelligent, thoughtful, gracefully written, and original . . . Brooks tells a believable and engaging story.”The Washington Post

“Intense, gripping . . . People of the Book, like her Pulitzer Prize-winning previous novel March, is a tour de force that delivers a reverberating lesson gleaned from history. . . . It’s a brilliant, innately suspenseful structure, and one that allows Brooks to show off her remarkable aptitude for assimilating research and conveying a wide range of settings. Also on full display is her keen sense of dramatic pacing.”San Francisco Chronicle

What listeners say about People of the Book

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

the many accents were all terrible

narrator used terrible accents. I think they were all bad, but the Israeli accent was the worst with no resemblance at all. because the book has so many poeple from different cultures, the use of terrible accents was all over it.
story was good.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommend

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It captured such a unique telling of different voices and tales. You should give it a listen!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good story. Accent palooza though.

Lovely story. The narrator's accents were often so distracting. The Italian, Spanish, Serbian were indistinguishable from each other. I wished she had just read in her own voice.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A must read for everyone!

This is such a powerful story so rich in history! I so enjoyed it that I will other Geraldine Brooks novels!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story but got hard to follow

Interesting story, moves well, but the poor woman trying to do all these different voices … it got hard to tell who was who at various points.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

I love listening to books while also reading them, which in this case was invaluable with the many characters, eras and accents. I loved the titles of each chapter as well! This book was mentioned at one of my book club meetings and I ordered it immediately and so glad I did. I would recommend this to anyone interested in truth based fiction and historical events and artifacts. I had no idea about the Haggadah and thoroughly enjoyed learning about and all the hands that saved it. Loved Geraldine’s writing style and look forward to reading more of her books!

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