I Had No Idea What a Great Book this Would Be

I must admit I was attracted to The People of the Book by Geraldine Brook's for the same reason I buy overpriced items at the grocery store - the beautiful packaging - the cover is matte black with a loosely drawn illustration of a butterfly wing which is printed in metallic gold ink.Despite the nice cover, the book sat on my shelf for many months until I finally picked it up and started to read it. Since I studied art history in college this book is of particular interest to me. Australian and globetrotter Hanna, is a book conservator who is researching a Jewish prayer book and it's history. The book discusses the history of Vienna in the 1600's, Hanna's life post 1995, and the upheaval of Bosnia and Sarajevo in the 1940's. 150 pages into this book - it is terrific.