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livnah
, February 06, 2009
(view all comments by livnah)
I'm not one to argue with the authenticity of a private manuscript, nor will I say anything more on the subject other than that you should be aware of these academic arguments before reading the book.
I will however say that this book is a fascinating read. The author of the book has done well to exclude enough commentary reported to be in the original manuscript relating to the original author's religion to yield it reasonably easy to read while leaving enough of that commentary in place so as to remind the reader of the original writer's time, place, and individual sensibilities. Even that amount which remains can be difficult for most casual readers, even Jewish ones such as myself, to wade through. I'd never suggest this book to anyone that had not the patience and understanding to cope with what I consider the Jewish equivalent of attempting to read a 12-century papal bull.
Past that, the story itself is on par with the nearly-contemporary Sir John Mandeville, however somewhat more believable than that writer. Once one gets their mind in the setting of the original author and their world, an amazing story unfolds before them that makes them feel as if they're going somewhere new, like an explorer, however no more new than the moon would be to, say, a 22nd-century passenger.
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