People Of The Book, at last!

Not for the squeamish, nor for those with overactive imaginations on the subject of a certain era of medieval history....
         I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition.
         Dum, te-dum, te-dum, te-dum, te-dum.
         No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

But for an average Joe Reader like me, this was probably the best book published in 2008. I don't think it contained any literary devices, allegories or symbolism; if it did, they went right over my head and didn't distract me from the story. It's a rare, good story, too--the history of a book. A certain priceless book of illuminated Jewish prayers that lived beyond the lifespan of many human owners. Its many owners, like the bearers of the One Ring, were bewitched, betrayed, or redeemed by the book...yet the book lived on.

All of which you could get by reading the cover. But here's what it meant to me--it was a new acquaintance who turned out to be a lifelong friend.  It was uncomfortable at times--a movie I wanted to fast-forward--but a friend I would want to call up for a frequent lunch date. To visit just to say "Hi," have a conversation.  About art, maybe, or mortality.

But above all, it was a reminder that humanity can progress; has progressed.  There are times when you think it hasn't--children still die of malnutrition; power still breeds corruption; slaves are still bought and sold; people still kill in the name of God.

But now more than ever, a single human voice, raised in protest, can be heard. Across the world, we will all hear them saying

    This isn't the way it's supposed to be.

And all of humanity, I think, will finally agree.