The Jewel Trader of Pegu by Jeffrey Hantover
Abraham is a young Jewish man from the ghettos of Venice who travels in 1598 to Pegu (part of Burma, as far as I can tell). He goes on behalf of his uncle who took him in when he was orphaned as a child and who is a jewel merchant. Pegu is a goldmine of precious jewels for European traders who can take them back to their homes for great profit.
Abraham is a devout man, one who is determined to abide by his religion while far from home, although he greatly enjoys the freedom of not being subjected to the traditional rules that Europe places on its Jews, rules like no touching fruit in the market. Peguan culture eventually conflicts with Jewish culture, though, and provides Abraham with a very difficult decision, one that will change his life.
I liked this book, but I was not totally blown away by it. The writing was good and very descriptive of life in Pegu. I think my main problem was trying to read anything resembling historical fiction right on the heels of “The Sunne in Splendor.” Perhaps part of my problem as well is that I was expecting historical fiction and “The Jewel Trader of Pegu” seemed to me to be more literary fiction in an historical setting than actually historical fiction.
“The Jewel Trader of Pegu” was pretty good and I would recommend it for someone who enjoys literary fiction and is interested in reading something in an historical setting. Don’t go into it expecting traditional historical fiction, though.
This one sounds really neat-thanks for reviewing it!
I think this novel basically proves the rule that historical fiction is not really a “genre” in the sense of “Sci-Fi” or “romance.” I loved The Jewel Trader of Pegu, but the setting is so exotic that in some ways it reminded me of novels about modern travelers. The place of the setting is just as important, if not more so, than the time period. And the theme of the novel – love can transcend culture – is timeless.
I enjoyed your review. My review of this book is at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info
You brought up some very good points. I read this last year with an online book club and really liked it. I don’t read much historical fiction so that wasn’t the part that appealed to me. The author joined us and he was great. We had such good discussions that I think it made the book even more appealing. If someone was reading it just for the historical aspects than they might not enjoy it as much as some others. I liked the whole experience of the book, the club and the author.
Good review!
Hmm…this one does sound interesting! Thanks for the review!
I’m on the fence on this one.
Your review actually made the book more appealing to me! I love historical fiction, but I’ve found that I’ve been enjoying literary fiction more and more lately. The cover is fabulous too!
I think this sounds interesting. I know what it is like to read a book on the heels of another book. Sometimes it makes a huge difference in our reaction to the next book we read. Thanks for the review. I had not heard of this book.
This one’s in my TBR pile. Glad to hear it’s good and different than most historical fiction.
I’ve just read and reviewed this book. I loved it. It was nice to get your take on it.
.-= Sandra´s last blog ..What Are You Reading On Mondays? July 20 =-.
With your permission I would like to add your link to my review page. I haven’t found any other reviews of this book yet and it’s good for readers to get different viewpoints on a book. Thank you.
.-= Sandra´s last blog ..What Are You Reading On Mondays? July 20 =-.