Illuminating

I adore illuminations. I was a strange kid I imagine. I loved calligraphy, needlepoint, history...

I had some great calligraphy pens and wanted so badly to learn how to do illuminated manuscripts. (Told you I was strange.)

Anyway, that said, I loved People of the Book. It's about (can you guess?) an illuminated book!

Actually the Sarajevo haggadah which is a real book, with a real history. The author, Geraldine Brooks, was a foreign reporter for the Wall Street Journal during the Bosnian war. She became enamored with the story of the haggadah and created her own version of the story with People of the Book.

Page from the Sarajevo Haggadah

Although I thought it dragged in a few places, in general the story (or stories) keep you moving.

The way the author takes you through time via the book is amazing.

Well worth your time!