Jeffrey Hantover

A Jewish widower named Abraham goes to Pegu to make some money trading jewels. He would find adventure, love, and answers to lifelong questions he didn't know he had. You hear Abraham's words through letters he writes to a relative. Quite touching and feeling somewhat ethereal.

At the same time, a young native girl is signed up to get married and the day of her wedding finds out her husband dies. She falls for the pale-skinned, hairy Abraham.

The characters really do grow and learn in the book. And in a story that became more romance than I would prefer, these moments of clarity shined through. The ending kind of bothered me but otherwise an enchanting story that one can really enjoy.

… (mere)

Slow paced but it fits the slow inner discovery of freedom that Abraham finds so exhilarating. This shadow of a man who slept walk through his life (his own words) finds his place at the end of the world at the turn of the 16th century.

The letters Abraham writes to his cousin Joseph take the reader through the long journey Abraham takes on from dutiful nephew going to the end of the world to trade for priceless jewels to free thinking man, alive and feeling every single beat of his heart and every breath he takes. Of course, he meets the exotic and wonderful foreign girl that changes his life but Jeffrey Hantover goes beyond the cliché and makes you care about Abraham inner turmoils.

A solid 3 stars.… (mere)

*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!… (mere)

The Jewel Trader of Pegu is an odd book. It tells the story of a sixteenth century jeweler from Venice. Abraham is sent to Pegu (now known as Bago, a city in Myanmar) to purchase precious stones for the family business. Abraham is Jewish, and the customs of the Buddhists of Pegu are baffling to him.

Abraham hires Win, a local broker, to help him navigate the markets of Pegu. It has taken Abraham a year to travel to Pegu, and he will spend a year there before journeying back to Venice. Win also helps Abraham navigate the strange world of daily life in Pegu.

Jeffrey Hantover seems to have invented a very strange and unbelievable world in The Jewel Trader of Pegu. I really did not care much for this book. I did finish it because it was a selection for my book club, but I’m glad I borrowed it from the library and I don’t recommend it.… (mere)