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The Jewel Trader of Pegu: A Novel, by Jeffrey Hantover
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In the autumn of 1598, Abraham, a melancholy young Jewish gem merchant, seeks his fortune far from the imprisoning ghetto walls of Venice. Traveling halfway across the world, he lands in the lush and exotic Burmese kingdom of Pegu—an alien place, yet one where the jewel trader is not shunned for his faith. There is a price for his newfound freedom, however. Local custom demands that Abraham perform a duty he finds troubling and barbaric . . . and thus Mya, barely more than a girl, arrives to share his bed. Gently banishing his despair, awakening something profound within him, Mya ultimately accepts Abraham's protection and, unexpectedly, his love. But great social and political upheaval threatens to violently transform the Peguan empire—with devastating consequences for Abraham and Mya and their dreams for the future.
- Sales Rank: #4100296 in Books
- Published on: 2008-01-02
- Released on: 2008-01-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.25" h x .85" w x 5.50" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 227 pages
From Publishers Weekly
Jewish jewel trader Abraham, a widower at 28, leaves Venice in 1598 for Pegu, a Burmese kingdom halfway around the world, where he is to settle and acquire high-quality gems for the family business. In his letters home, which comprise much of the novel, Abraham, liberated from the ghetto, delights in the freedom to walk when and where he will, but soon discovers that foreigners are expected to perform a specific service to bring luck to the marriages of young brides, one that is forbidden by Jewish law. His relationship with a young woman, Mya, expands his views, and he develops deep friendships with several other locals. As political unrest grows in the area, however, Abraham is forced to choose between his feelings for Mya and his certainty that the world does not have a place for their love. Making his fiction debut, Hantover intercuts Abraham's letters with short chapters from Mya's point of view with delicacy and grace. He evokes the lush setting and gives clear voice to Abraham's doubts, fears and passions. (Jan.)
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Review
“A thinking reader’s tale with all the trappings of an exotic historical romance.” (Debra Dean, author of The Madonnas of Leningrad)
“Dreamy and lyrical, steeped in the customs and atmosphere of a world long lost, THE JEWEL TRADER OF PEGU takes the reader on a deep emotional journey through the meanings of what is precious.” (Liza Dalby, author of The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel, and Geisha)
“[Readers] will be swept away by Hantover’s lavish descriptions of an exotic, lost Asian kingdom; the gentle love story; and the tale of one man’s thoughtful journey to his heart’s home.” (Booklist)
“A journey to the center of the heart . . . a beautiful story of love overcoming obstacles . . . [R]eaders are treated to a long look at the interior landscape of a man of faith whose world is shaken by the power of unexpected love.” (BookPage)
“A vivid portrait of life in Southeast Asia of the 16th century...[A] compelling debut novel.” (The American Jewish World)
“Beautifully written and expertly researched by an art and antiquities expert, this novel captivates ‘til its final page.” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
“[E]nchanting...moving...Hantover has written a jewel of a novel.” (The Reporter on THE JEWEL TRADER OF PEGU)
About the Author
Jeffrey Hantover has written extensively on social issues, art, and culture for international publications, and his poetry has been published in several U.S. literary journals. He lived in Hong Kong for more than a decade and resides with his wife in New York City.
Most helpful customer reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
A Tender Romance -- Literary But Insubstantial
By B. Case
I was delighted when I received an Advanced Readers Copy of "The Jewel Trader of Pegu" by Jefferey Hantover to review. Everything about the description of this book enchanted me. It looked like it would be a tantalizing and sensuous mix of literary delights: an adventure story set in the 16th century Burmese Kingdom of Pegu, a tender romance with ancient multiracial and multireligious overtones, a thinking-reader's tale rife with thematic undercurrents, and a work of dreamy and lyrical prose.
I finished the novel easily in one day. The experience was pleasant enough, but the book left me feeling sorely disappointed. It wasn't the ending that disappointed. Rather, it was the insubstantial literary weight of the entire work. I wanted to like this work. There was great promise, on multiple levels, but none of the parts measured up. The novel left me feeling empty.
Typically, I write a review within a day or two after finishing a book. But I didn't for this book. Instead, I kept waiting. I let almost a week go by hoping time might provide further insight that I could use to appreciate this book in a better light. But the more time passed, the more I found myself finding even greater fault with this work.
On the good side, the author succeeded in giving me an intriguing glimpse of two separate late-16th-century worlds: the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, and the Southeast-Asian Kingdom of Pegu. But even here, I felt cheated. I wanted much more detail. Historical fiction typically takes its readers deep into the culture, politics, economy, technology, and customs of a new world. This book merely gave an overall feeling for the times. That might have been all right, if the novel had delivered convincing deeply wrought main characters. But here, too, I felt let down. For me, none of the characters came to life. They weren't flat. They were just not real three-dimensional human beings. Frankly, the main characters, Abraham and Mya, were nothing more than flimsy fantasy--too perfect to be real.
The inspiration for the story evidently came from a single sentence in an unnamed Southeast Asian history book: "In Pegu and other ports of Burma and Siam, foreign traders were asked to initiate brides." From this one source, the author builds the entire scaffolding for his novel. But I found his framework to be little more than a house of cards. I was completely unable to buy into the author's fantasy of what this sentence might suggest. The more I thought about it, the more upset it made me. How dare the author create a fictional history on so little evidence? To me this idea seemed little more than a late-night sailor's tale that somehow made its way into some obscure history tome. But perhaps more important, is how poorly the author succeeds in making us believe these rituals: the deflowering of ancient merchant-class Burmese brides by foreign traders in order to bring their families good luck. Nonsense!
The novel did have one significant redeeming quality: the prose was fresh, reflective, and at times delightfully lyrical.
In the end, this novel was nothing more than a light sensual soft-core romance-- uncommon in its unusual ancient multicultural setting, but nonetheless very forgettable.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
A Jewel of a Novel
By Jack Dougherty
Jeff Hantover took me along on the best literary road trip I've been on in memory. From the first pages, the reader is there in the moment with the main character, Abraham, as the young man steps off the boat and is drawn into the exotic, slightly creepy, utterly sensual kingdom of Pegu.
One of the great pleasures of this book is Hantover's writing. He is like an artisan diamond cutter who obsesses over the tiniest details: The words, sentences and paragraphs of this book sparkle, and were clearly crafted with great precision. The result is a book that is luxurious, elegantly understated, and flawless.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
"I am afraid the women of this city will disappoint your fantasies"
By Sebastian Fernandez
I was really looking forward to read this book, not only because I enjoy historical fiction, but because of the exotic place in which it develops and of the way in which the story is narrated. This is not the first time I have read a novel in which we find out about what is going on through letters, but even though the concept is not new, it worked very well in this case. Especially because this allows the main character, Abraham, to fully describe the places, people and customs of Pegu, a city in Burma that today is known as Bago.
The book delivers in transporting the reader to this unusual land, but it is lacking in terms of the overall interest of the story and the empathy the reader feels for the characters. I found that my interest level followed a normal curve (bell-shaped), since at first it took me a while to get into the story and I felt the pace drag, then we reached a point in which the story becomes mesmerizing, and it last for about a third of the book, only to slow-down again and end in a very anticlimactic way. The "good part" has to do with the role the main character plays in Pegu, the very special services he provides to the newlyweds, and also with the love story that serves as the backbone of the plot.
I recommend this novel to those that are mainly interested in knowing more about the fascinating land of Pegu, but if you are looking for a riveting read that keeps you wanting to devour page after page, you will likely be disappointed. Hantover shows that he is a good writer and that he is in the right path, but he definitely needs to improve in terms of keeping the reader engaged.
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