The Ghost of Hannah Mendes: A Novel
By Naomi Ragen
4/5
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About this ebook
When Catherine da Costa, a wealthy Manhattan matron, learns she has only a short time to live, she realizes that her family tree will die unless she passes on its legacy and traditions to her granddaughters. But Suzanne and Francesca, beautiful young women caught up in trendy causes and ambitious careers, have no interest in the past. Catherine almost despairs until one night she is visited by the ghost of her family's anscestor, an indomitable Renaissance businesswoman named Hannah Mandes.
The ghost of Hannah Mendes encourages Catherine to use every trick in the book to coerce the granddaughters to journey across Europe and acquaint themselves with their roots. While the sisters honor their grandmother's request out of loyalty, they believe their quest is futile--until it starts to uncover ancient pages from Hannah Mendes's fascinating memoir, and brings new loves into their lives.
Naomi Ragen
Naomi Ragen is an award-winning novelist, journalist and playwright. Her first book, Jephte’s Daughter, was listed among the one-hundred most important Jewish books of all time. Her bestselling novels include Sotah, The Covenant, The Sisters Weiss, and Devil in Jerusalem. An outspoken advocate for women’s rights, and an active combatant against anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda through her website, she has lived in Jerusalem since 1971. An Observant Wife is her thirteenth novel.
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Reviews for The Ghost of Hannah Mendes
6 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a wonderful ghost story of sorts. I love that the dying grandmother, the matriarch of the family, enlists the help of the most famous of the families ancestors (the ghost of Hannah Mendes) to help get her grandaughters' lives back on track. The grandmother sends them on a mission to seek out the other parts of the manuscript that Hanna left hidden. The story bounces back and forth in time every time they find a piece of Hanna's story. Her story gives us a glimpse into the period when the Jewish people were expeled from spain or forced to convert by the Inquisition. tbc...
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Catherine da Costa is a wealthy matron, who comes to realize her family tree will be broken with her two granddaughters, who have no interest in the family heritage. Catherine sets out to teach her granddaughters of their past as the ghost of Hannah Mendes keeps her going. Intertwined with Catherine's story is that of Hannah - a wealthy Jewish woman during the Inquisition, who took over her husband's pepper trade when he died. I really liked how this book started out. Having the dual time lines and interacting stories was interesting. The story flowed well until the dinner in London and then the book just crashed for me. Catherine was a great character, as was Gracia Mendes. I did not like Catherine's granddaughters Suzanne and Francesca. I felt like they were whiny and not strong characters. I felt like their parts of the story dragged on and that they did not do anything to aid the plot. I felt like there could have been more action surrounding the search for the manuscript. The girls would start to look and then get caught up in romance and then poof - a piece of manuscript was found elsewhere.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lots of interesting, and disturbing, information on the Spanish Inquisition. Pretty good story line about contemporary Sephardic-New York family, the younger onew with no Yiddishkeit or curiousity about their forebearers. The two granddaughters are quite annoying and shallow and portrayed somewhat one-dimensionally.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Catherine da Costa, a wealthy Jewish widow is afraid her famly has lost their religion & their history. Before she dies, she sends her granddaughters to Europe to search for their Sephardic Jewish history, particularly the life of Hannah Mendes.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very good book weaving history.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a great novel: the past and the present intertwine seamlessly.