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At Vitoria: A City's Medieval Promise Between Christians and Sephardic Jews

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How could a medieval Jewish cemetery cause so much debate? At Vitoria transports the reader from 1950s Bayonne, France back to medieval Spain and weaves a story of success, love, terror, tragedy, shame, and honor. At Vitoria introduces the reader to the CREVAGOS, a Jewish family that copes with adversity and trauma in the midst of joy and daily needs, while living under the shadow of the Spanish Inquisition. Hard work, intelligence and clever spirit create a family of survivors. At Vitoria is also the story of how, in 1492 when Jews are expelled from Spain, the Christians of Vitoria, grateful to Jewish physicians for saving lives, take an oath to preserve the Jewish cemetery. Almost 500 years later, this promise draws raw emotions from both Christians and Jews. At Vitoria is a heart wrenching, but ultimately heart-warming read, with a life-affirming message. It is sure to cause smiles, tears, and renewed pride in humanity.

(Source: Amazon)

BLOGGER REVIEW

At Vitoria is a historical piece which covers a recount of the journey of the Jewish ancestors of the 14th century in their safe hold, Vitoria, by their descendants in the far future of the 19th century living in Spanish grounds. In the book, Marcia Riman Selz shows the emotions and agony of living in constant fear of losing one's life through the Jews, and the gruesome hard hearted levels greed can push a person through the wealthy Christian monarchs. With the younger generation discussing whether to put an end to a truce between the Jews and Christians in the name of modern development, the story is told of the toiling their ancestors underwent for the safety of their descendants. It is indeed a masterpiece.

At Vitoria is a very rare piece that not only teaches about the past but gives enough detail. The author made full use of Jewish names and customs in their own language, which makes the book not only informative but highly educational. Readers are given the opportunity to learn about the culture of another religion, or theirs from ancient times.

Although the book does give strong emotions, it should also be noted that the book does show details to a very raw detail. Some chapters may be seen as triggers for readers with high sensitivity to certain content such as abuse of physical, sexual and emotional forms.

In all aspects of the book, there were no forms of grammatical errors, inappropriate words and also gave proper explanations to foreign words where necessary. This gives the book a rating of 4/4 on grammar and presentation. A wonderful outline of events and a pure masterpiece gives this book as a 5/5 rating and I highly recommend, especially to lovers of history and culture.

At Vitoria is preferably a book for a mature audience, such as adults from ages 18 upwards due to it's highly emotionally provoking scenes. In all forms, this book is indeed one of a kind.

(You can Message the Skulive WhatsApp Contact for a copy of this amazing novel)

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