Das Reich der Himmel

Grazia dei Rossi #2

by Jacqueline Park

Istanbul, 16. Jahrhundert. Neben der muslimischen Bevölkerung suchen jüdische und christliche Einwanderer in der Stadt am Bosporus ihr Glück. Judah del Medigo, jüdischer Arzt und Ehemann der verstorbenen Grazia dei Rossi, arbeitet als Leibarzt des Sultans am osmanischen Hof. Damit ihn sein Leibarzt auf Kriegszüge begleiten kann, gewährt der Sultan Judahs Sohn Danilo einen Platz in der königlichen Haremsschule. Prinzessin Saida, die Tochter des Sultans, wird den jungen jüdischen Mann unterweisen. Nur widerwillig stellt sich Saida der Aufgabe, den jungen Arztsohn zu unterrichten. Zu unterschiedlich sind ihre Kulturen und ihr Stand; bis sie sich ineinander verlieben. Trotz aller Toleranz am Hof ist eine gemeinsame Zukunft für Saida und Danilo völlig undenkbar. Sollte das Geheimnis der Prinzessin entdeckt werden, wäre die Ehre des Sultans so beschmutzt, dass nur der Tod sie wiederherstellen könnte…

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Jewish, Middle East, Romance

592 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Born Jacqueline Rosen in Winnipeg in 1925, she grew up during the harsh years of the Depression. Park has very clear recollections of that uncertain time which left deep scars.

Park is the founding chairman of the Dramatic Writing Program and professor emerita at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Park is an acclaimed novelist, currently working on the third installment of a three-part literary saga that began with The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi, a remarkable 15th-century Italian Jewish woman, and continues with newly published The Legacy of Grazia dei Rossi, about the travails of Grazia’s son in the court of the Ottoman ruler, Suleiman the Great.

The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi, published in 1997, became an acclaimed, international bestseller. But Park, then 72, was not finished writing. “I came from television,” she said, “where the motto is: Always leave room for a sequel.”

Park lives in Toronto.

Reviews

[Melissa]

The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi (book #1 in this trilogy) is one of my favourite novels. This so called sequel has come nowhere close, and I can hardly believe it's the same author. The first third of this novel is stale and boring, the main plot being a forbidden love story that has been done better. The writing style is hard to follow. We see into the minds of too many characters each having only one frame of thought. The dialogue is poor and un-engaging, and I just kept reading waiting for things to get better.

For me the book was saved in part II, when the story begins being told in a series of letters written in first person, back and forth between characters. The unrealistic love story becomes back ground, and the story of an advancing page boy catching the attention of a jealous vizier begins, alive in a wonderfully described historical setting, travelling with the Sultan on a war campaign.

By the end I was interested again, and believe I will read the third book.

All in all more than a touch disappointing

[Mirella]

Finally! From international bestselling author, comes the sequel to The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi. I read and loved this book many years ago, and it was with great pleasure that I eagerly accepted both books to read and review. The most impressive thing of these two books is the meticulous research that Jacqueline Park did in order to write this wonderfully rich and comprehensive novel. She travelled throughout the country, researching not only the politics of 16th century Renaissance Italy, but church laws, Jewish history, fashion, food, and culture of the era. With such intensive research, she put together the story of a Jewish woman whose only legacy to her sole son is a book she wrote detailing her life. And what a sweeping story both books are! And there is a third book to come too!

I highly recommend that you read the books in order so that you have a clear knowledge and understanding of the characters and their interactions with each other. The second book, The Legacy of Grazia dei Rossi follows the lives of the heroine's son and father who have fled Jewish persecution in Italy to the safety of Turkey and the Ottoman empire. Both books come complete with glossaries and author's notes.

Both books give a realistic view of how Jews were vulnerable, how they were treated prejudiciously and unfairly, how they could lose all their posessions at the whim of others, and how life and death hung in the balance. Stirring, poignant, and beautifully told, I highly recommend this novel to those who love a good story while expecting the highest quality of historical detail. I eagerly await the third installment of the series, entitled Son of Two Fathers. A wonderful series to add to your historical library!

[Hermien]

I loved the historical details about the Ottoman empire in the 16th century and it was a pretty good love/adventure story as well. I can't wait for the next book.

[Daniel]

While I really enjoyed the first book in the series, this book severely suffered from second/middle book syndrome. The improbable romance, poorly fleshed out characters, and a thin plot really didn’t do it for me. I think it could have moved in to the third book without it and only tidbits and hints of what occurred in the second book would be sufficient. I can only hope the third novel gets back to the same level as the first.
Undoubtedly, this also was informative and required a ton of research, which I commend.

[Hypatia]

This was not nearly as good as the first book in the series, but it grew on me. The first half felt like it wasn't really going anywhere, but the second half was definitely better. It also felt like more of a setup for the third book though, especially at the end. Overall, I enjoyed it in the end, but I think I would be just as satisfied if I'd stopped after the first book. I doubt I'll bother to read the third.

[Wendy]

I was thrilled that Jacqueline Park did a sequel to The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi, following the life of her son in Constantinople with his father, Chief Physician to the Sultan. Beautiful love story and intriguing setting. The last book of the trilogy comes out in 2019.

[Jennifer Newman]

Great book except again for the last little bit - most of the coda. Not necessary to the story. So I deducted a star. I am looking forward to reading the 3rd one. I’m also pleased it is a Canadian author.

[Sheyla]

This book took forever to read. So slow and boring. The romance story between Danilo and Saida was unrealistic. The most interesting part was Danilo meeting Samuel Mendes. Very disappointed in this long, boring storyline.

[Helene]

I appreciated more the 1st book of this series.

[Emmab]

Fijne pageturner

[Hannah Widlus]

Not as good as the first book in the series. It dragged a little.

[Karen]

What an amazing accomplishment! The novel follows Danilo del Medigo, son of Grazia del Rossi for his life as a child in the haram school of Sulieman the magnificent through his travels as a translator when Sulieman goes from Istanbul to conquer Baghdad to exile. Connecting it all is hislove for Sadia, Sulieman's daughter, a forbidden relationship. His father is the Sultan's physician and is held in great esteem, allowed to practice Judaism and tor raise is only child accordingly. The historic detail of life in that period and the description of the army travelling to conquer Baghdad is outstanding. The book,is divided into 3 parts with traditional. Aristides for the first and third sections. The middle section is made up,of a series of letters from Danilo to,his,father describing everything that is happening to him, letters from the Sultan to his wife and letters from the Sultan's wife who is serving as Regent to the sultan. The latter 2 letters have secret writing from Danilo to Sadia as well.

[Valerie]

I really enjoyed the first book The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi but this sequel misses the mark on many levels. Poorly drawn characters whom I found to be two dimensional and really didn't care anything about. The forbidden love story? Silly and way too familiar from dozens of other better written novels. Pages and pages of historical background made a really long story just too long, and I really didn't care for differing story styles, bleh! It was like reading several bad novels all scrunched into one book. This will work for many, just not me. I'll definitely pass on book #3.

[Joanne]

I loved this story and am excited to see that a third one is in the plans.
Two clever main characters outwit the wise sultan and main players in the Topkapi Palace. The descriptions of the buildings and the opulence were amazing. The author researched extensively to be able to successfully include all the details about horsemanship, pages, the game of gerit, medicine of the time, and the buildings of Istanbul. The story of Alexander the Great and his influence on this Sultan was not something I'd read about previously.
The secret letter writing tactics were brilliant as well.

[Fiona]

This was very different from the first book but its been so long since I read that one, I wasn't bothered. The plot is a bit thin, much of the tale is taken up with the historical details of the court and military campaign of Sulieman the Magnificent which I knew little about. As a consequence, I really enjoyed the book. This is historical fiction for people more interested in history than fiction.

[Catherine]

Fantastic story. I hadn't read Book One prior to Book Two but it made no difference. This is a stand-alone book filled with an immensely enjoyable tale of several characters that are weaved together very cohesively. Wonderfully written; easy to fall into and get swept away with the time period and plots.

[Andrea]

I read this for a review, it was a free book. Historical romance is not something I would typically read. The story was better then expected however I have no desire to read the first or third book of the trilogy.

[Helen C]

A tantalizing look at life in the Ottoman Court full of mystery and danger.
Couldn't put this book down until I finished it. Only to find out their is another
book-- Son of two fathers which I must read next.

[Lara Maynard]

I was not as enthralled as with the story of Grazia in 14th century Italy of volume one, but I hold out hope that the third volume will reclaim my imagination and admiration.

[Yaël]

Very good. Enjoyed getting to know Suleyman and the Ottoman court. I'm always wishing for a good end, but it's a bittersweet finale to be continued.

[marjorie lecker]

good but disappointed Grazia was not in it - it's about her son

[Michelle]

Disappointing. Nowhere near the fabulous first book. I will read the 3rd in hopes of it being better than this sappy, uninspiring story.