Review & Giveaway: The Debt of Tamar by Nicole Dweck
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Book Description:
Publication Date: February 4, 2013
Devon House Press
Paperback; 332p
ISBN-10: 061558361X
During the second half of the 16th century, a wealthy widow by the name of Doña Antonia Nissim is arrested and charged with being a secret Jew. The punishment? Death by burning. Enter Suleiman the Magnificent, an Ottoman “Schindler,” and the most celebrated sultan in all of Turkish history. With the help of the Sultan, the widow and her children manage their escape to Istanbul. Life is seemingly idyllic for the family in their new home, that is, until the Sultan’s son meets and falls in love with Tamar, Doña Antonia’s beautiful and free-spirited granddaughter. A quiet love affair ensues until one day, the girl vanishes.
Over four centuries later, thirty-two year old Selim Osman, a playboy prince with a thriving real estate empire, is suddenly diagnosed with a life-theatening condition. Abandoning the mother of his unborn child, he vanishes from Istanbul without an explanation. In a Manhattan hospital, he meets Hannah, a talented artist and the daughter of a French Holocaust survivor. As their story intertwines with that of their ancestors, readers are taken back to Nazi-occupied Paris, and to a sea-side village in the Holy Land where a world of secrets is illuminated.
Theirs is a love that has been dormant for centuries, spanning continents, generations, oceans, and religions. Bound by a debt that has lingered through time, they must right the wrongs of the past if they’re ever to break the shackles of their future.
My Thoughts:
The Debt of Tamar opens in 16th century Spain, during the Inquisition. Doña Antonia Nissim is released into Turkey by the demand of Suleiman the Magnificent. Her daughter , Reyna and nephew, Jose meet her as she is helped off the ship. They are now free to practice Judaism freely but are they totally free? Jose and Reyna marry and have a daughter, Tamar. When Tamar is a teenager Jose makes a decision, he thinks is best for the family but sets off ‘The Sultan’s Curse’ with consequences spanning over many centuries.
The book jumps from the 16th century, to present day, to the 1940’s and again to present day. I get why the author did that but I did get annoyed at times. I would have likes a few more details up front upon arriving at each time frame but those came out as the book skips around.
Other than the the writing was beautiful. Nicle Dweck has a knack for capturing time and landscape and framing them for her reader. I would have liked to get to know some of the characters more. We never even find out what actually happens to Tamar. I wish we had.
I still highly recommend The Debt of Tamar. It truely is a beautiful book that I had a hard time putting down, most of the time. I would love to read more by Nicole Dweck.
4/5
I received the ebook version of this book for my honest opinion.
About Nicole Dweck:
Nicole Dweck is a writer whose work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country.
The Debt of Tamar, her debut novel, was a two-time finalist in the UK’s Cinnamon Press Novel Award Competition. It has also received an honorable award mention in the category of Mainstream/Literary Fiction from Writers Digest and was the highest rated book for two weeks running on the Harper Collin’s “Authonomy” website.
Nicole lives in New York City with her husband and son.
Thanks to Amy Bruno of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, I am giving away one print copy of The Debt of Tamar. This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on April 11, 2014. Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
