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People of the Book ~ Geraldine Brooks ~ July 15 ~ Book Club Online
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People of the Book - by Geraldine Brooks
You'll fall in love with Hanna Heath, Geraldine Brooks' edgy Aussie rare book expert with an attitude, a loner with a real passion for her work. How could she refuse this opportunity of a lifetime, the conservation of the beautifully illustrated Sarajevo Haggadah, the mysterious Hebrew manuscript, created in Spain in the 14th century?
The invitation will bring Hanna into war-torn Bosnia in the spring of 1996 and then, into the world of fine art forgers and international fanatics. Her intuitive investigation of the manuscript will put her in a time capsule to medieval Spain and then back to Northern Australia again with a number of stops along the way. This is based on the travels of an actual manuscript, which has surfaced over the centuries since its creation in Spain.Discussion Schedule:
July 15-19 #1 ~ Hanna, 1996; Insect's Wing;
Sarajevo, 1940
July 20-24 Hanna, Vienna, 1996; Feathers and a Rose;
Hannah, Vienna, Spring '96
July 25-August 3 Wine Stains, Venice 1609;
Hanna, Boston, 1996
August 4-August 8 Saltwater, Tarragona, 1492;
Hanna, London, Spring, 1996
August 9-August 13 White Hair, Seville, 1480;
Hanna, Sarajevo, Spring, 1996
August 14-18 Lola, Jerusalem, 2002;
Hanna, Gunumeleng, 2002
August 19-August 23 Afterword
(click twice to really enlarge)
Topics for Discussion
July 15-19 ~ Hanna, 1996; Insect's Wing;
Sarajevo, 1940
1. What is your opinion of Geraldine Brooks' protagonist from these introductory chapters? Do you know people like Hanna? Is she believable? Likeable?
2. Why was Hanna Heath chosen from a pool of more qualified conservators to prepare the Haggadah for exhibition?
Do you think she differs from most conservators who consider their job "merely technical?"
3. What are some of the possible reasons Hanna's hands were shaking as she waited for the book to be brought to her in the bank vault?
4. What facts do we learn about the manuscript's appearance in Sarajevo in 1894? Does it appear to have been a legal sale to the museum?
5. Why does the UN want to put it on display as soon as possible in 1996?
6. What do you remember about the book's appearance when Hanna first sees it? Will she rebind the book as previous conservators have done? How does she see her job as a conservator?
7. Is it remarkable, miraculous even, that the manuscript is in such good condition considering the conditions in which it was stored and the way it has been handled?
8. Is there reason to suspect that the manuscript was illustrated by a Christian illuminator? But what is it about the Seder illustration that Hanna finds perplexing?
9. What remarkable discoveries does Hanna make in the manuscript's binding? Why does she believe that the haggadah has been in the Alps at one time? Do you think this is all fiction?
10. What do we learn about the attitudes of the Sarajevo natives during the war from Ozren when he takes Hanna to dinner in the Old Town? Why does he reject the second opinion Hannah offers him to see if anything can be done about his son's head injury
11. What purpose does Lola's story serve? What did you learn of ethnic relations in Sarajevo in the 1940's?
12. Can you tell which characters were were real, which were fictional? Serif Kamal - the Muslim who saved the Haggadah from the Nazis? Dr. Josip Boscovic, the museum director, who turned it over to Kamal? Do you think the name of the person who saved the manuscript in 1992 is known? Do you believe that the 30 year old kustos, Ozren Karaman is a fictitious character?
Relevant Links:
Geraldine Brooks - Background information; Sarajevo Haggadah; Early Haggadah Manuscripts; Illuminated Manuscripts; Brief History of Illuminating Manuscripts;
Discussion Leaders: JoanP, Ann , JoanK, & Traudee
JoanP:
The day has finally come! What a great big enthusiastic, diverse group we have gathered here! Surely this will be a rich, rewarding and enjoyable discussion! How can it not be? Commendable how you have kept quiet about the book during the pre-discussion until now. If you were not around for the pre-discussion, know that there is much valuable information there concerning the situation in Sarajevo now and in the past. There were also many posts about haggadot. You might want to use the site as a reference - or you can ask again here. We now have some very knowledgeable posters on these matters.
The author is travelling abroad - Germany right now, on an international book tour, but will try to respond to questions we will forward to her by email - through her publisher. We'll keep the questions in a link in the header here and forward them to her each week. We'll try not to repeat questions that have been answered in interviews elsewhere - will make every effort to keep this list brief. Will you bold your questions in your posts so we don't miss them?
Finally, you'll find a schedule in the heading at the top of each page. We ask that you keep an eye on the dates and chapters and try not stray into the next chapters in your comments, as some of us have not read the book beforehand. No one wants to be a spoiler, we know that - but it can happen if we're not careful.
Again - a great big warm Welcome to everyone! We're off!!!
JoanK:
And WELCOME again. This is an absolutely fascinating book, and we have a great group here: it should be a wonderful discussion. So prepare to go through space and time, through the worlds of books, of medicine, of art, of Jewish history and the histories of at least three nations and four centuries, as well as drama, mystery and romance. What more could we ask for?
Well, maybe something to drink and munch on while we talk. We will start out in Sarajevo, where we are told our heroine, Hannah, drinks beer and eats "cevapcici": a kind of sausage that "can be found on nearly every corner" in Sarajevo (according to Wikopedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cevapcici
I hope you haven't eaten. Even if you have, pull up a chair and dig in.
Mippy:
Good morning, everyone!
Thanks, JoanK, I'll skip the sausage meat :D . . . and progress to the meat of the book.
Hannah seems to be the perfect choice for exploring the Hagaddah. She's competent and also young enough to have personal adventures, i.e. romances, as they come about. She's also young enough to have an active, interesting mother.
So from the point of view of the novelist, she can take part in multiple subplots.
And from my viewpoint as a reader, she's most complex and interesting. What a book!
Babi:
Q.1 I found Hanna entirely believable. I like it when people can become so
engrossed in their work that they shut out everything around them. I've
been known to do that myself.
Q.2 Do most conservators consider their jobs merely technical? Don't they get
excited when a rare and valuable object comes to their hands? I suppose some
could come to the work sinply as technicians, but one would think a love of
antiquity draws most people to the field.
Of course Hanna drinks beer, JOANK. she's an Aussie, isn't she?
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