People of the Book

People of the Book
by Geraldine Brooks
First published in the USA in 2008 by Viking Penguin

My copy of People of the Book was a gift from a beautiful Australian friend of mine who, like us, made the difficult and enriching choice to live internationally for an extended portion of her adult life while raising children. This book is a phenomenal work of fiction/historical fiction. How to sum it up for a miniature few lines of reflection is beyond me. However, because it was such a significant book for me to read, I’ll have a go.

This gorgeous, gripping, and important book by Geraldine Brooks, an Australian born former foreign correspondent, crosses and connects multiple continents, countries, centuries, cultures, and world religions. The author weaves a fictionally written tapestry while using modern and historical atrocities and intense feats of compassion, courage, and bravery to create a work of art that educates, entertains, engrosses and explores profound depths of the human experience. The author also has a lively and keen knack for precision in her use of vocabulary.

I have read this book twice now, once in 2018. The second time, in 2021, I read it entirely out loud to Scott while in the car and in the evenings on a couple of long autumn road trips. While reading it the second time, I realized how I had, at first, primarily read it through a plot driven lens— so much so that I missed much of the descriptive details and delicate beauty in her writing style. I’m very grateful I took the time to read it out loud, more slowly, and that I had someone to share it with.

One of the things I appreciated the most about this book is how the author unpacked the details and realities of historical facts that are often mentioned and passed over in school textbooks. The author accomplished this task in a way like giving muscles and ligaments, organs and skin to the human skeleton. I really appreciate that this book exists!