The Jewel Trader of Pegu

by Jeffrey Hantover

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061252719
• ISBN13: 9780061252716
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

A Gem of a Masterpiece

Jeffrey Hantover is what I call a Word Weaver. He has the incredible rare talent of blending words and phrases, creating sentences and paragraphs so beautiful it almost makes you weep for the experience of reading his work. This novel is beyond beautiful, a book as shining as the jewels he writes about. The reader immediately gets pulled in with evocative descriptions of the lush and exotic world of Pegu, its flora and fauna, its people and culture. Our main character Abraham is a quiet and solemn soul, and is a man of few words because of the unfortunate life he lives as a Jew amongst Christians in his home land of Venice. The author offers informative and vivid portrayals of how the Jews were cruelly treated and ostracized in 16th century Italy. When Abraham sets his feet on Burmese soil, his sense of craved freedom breathes life into his heart and into his story. Lost and uncertain in a strange land, alien to these new surroundings and odd cultural ways, Abraham soon finds peace and serenity among beautiful people of Buddhist faith. Again his religion clashes against another, but here he is treated with respect and love and feels freedom unbound. I felt while reading this story that I WAS Abraham, instead of the usual reader experience of watching the story unfold as an outsider on the sidelines. I saw what he saw, felt what he felt, smelled what he smelled. This style of writing reeks of talent so rare. Our Abraham soon meets Mya, a young Burmese woman, under peculiar circumstances that challenge Abraham's faith, views of life and love, and his beliefs of what is right and wrong. But, as he and Mya learn about each other's worlds, obstacles are easily overcome and their love prevails. This novel is like a masterpiece of art, one you will read more than once just to experience again and again the exquisite blend of the alluring and mysterious setting, with the deep sensual characters, both so rich in life. There is great wisdom, philosophy and love here in this tale, dont' miss this literary gem. It truly sparkles!

Touching and Profound

This is a perfect jewel of a story that I know I will be thinking about for a long time. It transported me to an exotic, long-ago setting, yet its themes are timeless and transcend cultural borders. It is about our need to connect with our common humanity, our universal longing for spiritual truth, and our ability to embrace the "other" within as well as outside ourselves.

"Our companionship can only be in my dreams that I nw most eagerly invite."

A major seaport, Pegu was founded in 825AD by two brothers from Thaton. Considered the golden land of the Mons, Pegu's golden era started in 1365 when it became the capital of Lower Myanmar. Its greatness lasted for 270 years and early European visitors often mentioned Pegu's importance as a seaport and centre for trade, each generation of seafarers commenting on its magnificence. Certainly Abraham, a twenty-eight-year-old Jewish jewel murchant who in 1598 comes to this great city for a year to do business in the stone trade, is totally overwhelmed by this strange and exotic city, where wonders exist that would turn the "Grand Canal black with ink." A place that is synonymous with eternity, Pegu proves to be a city of solace for Abraham, far from the narrow and twisting streets of Venice and the dark segregated life in the enclaves of the Jewish ghetto. Abraham writes to his cousin Joseph aboard the ship and it is here that he first mixes with Gujaratis, Malays, Siamese and all of the other "brown-faced heathens," even as in their eyes, Abraham is considered one of the big-nosed and hairy barbarians. From his ship Abraham sees jungles that are so thick with towering trees that sunlight rarely pierces their branches where strange lands that appear like magical incanations, that "an alchemist might chant." But it is in Pegu that Abraham truly awakens to new possiblities. A grand city of wide streets, the metropolis is filled with giant coconut palms that fan out over streets, the avenues constantly glittering with gilded spires. It is also here that the jewel trader comes face to face with these strange and remarkable Peguans, the tatooed men, covered from navel to knee with all kinds of wild and strange creatures, and the women, their faces painted with yellow powder and paste. Abraham's broker, a small bald fellow by the name of Maung Win, helps acclimate Abraham to this exotic new environment. A man of strong will, Win is only one of only four royal jewel brokers and because he speaks redimentary Italian he is able to help Abraham navigate his first months at the royal trading house where the selling of Indian cloth enables him to accumulate a fine supply of stones that his clients, the retainers and rivals and their wives and lovers in the noble houses of Venice will pay handsomely for. The young Jewel trader is finding himself strangely taken with the trade as these jewels are transformed into priceless rubies and sapphires that in Venice will turn to gold and silver, and for the first time Abraham finds himself a part of the world, so far from the life that he has knowni Venice. Abrahm, however must not only meet his obligations as a trader; there is something else that is expected of him, something that proves to be reprehensible to his spirit. It is a custom in Pegu for brides from good families have a foreigner take their maidenhead and it is an honor to both. Win tells Abraham that the Genoese perform this service for many an

A Jewel of a Novel

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.

deep historical look into star-crossed lovers

In 1598 twenty-seven year old Jewish jewel peddler Abraham decides to leave Venice following the death of his wife. His family protests and pleads with him to stay in Venice as they worry about his sitting Shiva on a ship and living amidst gentiles eating non-kosher food. Still ignoring their soulful admonitions, he travels to Pegu, a Burmese kingdom where he opens up an extension of the family business back home by obtaining top of the line gems. Abraham is pleased with his the results of his decision to leave Europe as he no longer is incarcerated in a ghetto; in Pegu, he can go where he wants when he wants. However, he soon learns that foreigners must perform a duty that will bring good fortune to new brides; failure to do so mean expulsion from the country, but that requirement violates Jewish scripture. He also has an attraction to local Mya, but doubts that love is strong enough to overcome their respective religions. More a historical character study of predominately two protagonists, THE JEWEL TRADER OF PEGU is a fascinating look at a sixteenth century Jewish European living in an Asian kingdom; a stranger in a strange land. The story line is told mostly by his letters to his family in Venice, but also has interesting interludes that provide Mya's perspective on some of the same events that Abraham describes. Limited in action; fans who appreciate a deep historical look into star-crossed lovers struggling with personal, religious and national differences. Harriet Klausner