Is this another historical romance novel about the role of women and Jews in an earlier historical period? No, The Bookseller's Sonnets is not another Rashi's Daughters or The Fruit of Her Hands, though if you enjoyed those books you'll probably like this one even more. What makes this book different is the way it looks at Jewish life in the present day, refreshingly honest in its portrayal of people in interfaith relationships and interfaith families in today's Jewish community. The writing captures the nuances of a Jewish experience from a perspective most Jews usually don't hear
The Bookseller's Sonnets is the story of three women, all from different times, all facing challenges to their love, to their faith, and to their families. The author ties their stories together so deftly, showing the universality of the strength of love and lovingly shows us the true ties that bind us to the ones we love. The main character, Jill Levin, is a woman of intelligence, thoughtfulness and humility, allowing us on her personal journey through her struggles with faith and family. The voice of Margaret More is written believably, the sonnets with great poetic skill. The written voice of the anonymous donor, a Holocaust survivor, captures the horror, suffering, and survivor's guilt. Most interestingly, it explores the long-lasting effects of such an event on the survivor's world view, and even how it has greatly affected generations since. Even the supporting characters are written with love and sympathy, each with their own perspective, allowing Jill, and us, to come to an understanding on matters of faith and love with an open mind and with careful thought. This is one of those books that will stay with me for quite a while.
A mysterious package from an anonymous artifact donor arrives on the desk of Jill Levin, the senior curator at a Holocaust museum: a secret diary, written by the eldest daughter of St. Thomas More, legal advisor to and close friend of Henry VIII. As Jill and her colleagues work to authenticate this rare find, letters arrive to convey the manuscript's history and the donor's unimaginable story of survival. At the same time, representatives from the Archdiocese of New York arrive to stake their claim to this controversial document, hoping to send it to a Vatican archive before its explosive content becomes public. As the process of authentication hovers between find and fraud, and as the battle for provenance plays out between religious institutions, Jill struggles with her own family history, and her involvement in a relationship she fears will disrupt and disappoint her family.
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