Beauty Queen of Jerusalem

Really enjoyed this book - I couldn’t put it down!!Totally different from the series but the spirit is the same. Also a fascinating history of Jerusalem!

I SO wanted to love this book. It's an engrossing story about a culture that most people know nothing of -- the ladino speaking Sephardic culture of Jerusalem -- largely taking place in the period before Israeli independence in 1947. It's a brisk read, but I can't help feeling something's been lost in the translation from Hebrew to English. The pacing bogs down in the middle and it starts to feel repetitive. Also, there is little in the way of truly understanding the internal dialogue of the characters which feel very uni dimensional. I am thinking that I may actually like the Netflix series better! We'll see...

We totally enjoyed this series. Loved it and we found the historical background very interesting. You can learn a lot through a personal story.

This book was recommended to me. Great book that sort of informs those about the thoughts about Israeli history on the 1920-1940 on the coming of the state of Israel by the inhabitants of the area

I liked the book for the most part! I don’t know much about everything happening politically in Jerusalem throughout the decades the book covers, so some things may have been lost on me. I did make every attempt to stop and look up the history as I read just to better educate myself.I think this may have lead to my confusion with EVERY Single characters’ age throughout the story. In fact half way through the book I started over skimming through and highlighting in yellow anything that would help me figure out how old everyone was. I continued doing this throughout the rest of the book. And this revealed some mistakes! Time lines were not matching up or making any sense! That was one of the more annoying things -not knowing how old anyone is at any time while things are happening or how they were trying to make mid 30 year olds sound like they were in their 70’s.I loved the stories about the 4 different women and their retrospective husband’s lives, but the stories were often cut short. Too many important story lines were just left with no closure. No ending. The writing was very choppy and I feel like there were characters we should have learned much more about or at least learned what happened to them instead of never mentioning them again.I’m glad I read it, but I’m underwhelmed. The ending felt really lazy, hurried and slapped on.

This is a great read and helps explain the volatility in this area of the world. Well written.

There are bags under my eyes from staying up too long to read “just one more chapter.”I thoroughly enjoyed this story of the Ermosa family, told differently than Netflix’s version. Unlike other reviewers here, I’m not upset that some of the characters aren’t “likable.” The book doesn’t claim to be a fairy tale or romance novel. The characters are vivid and real.I will agree that the ending seems quite abrupt, and I personally would have liked a more gradual closure, but overall the book is a journey on which I am happy I embarked.

Disturbingly raw emotions, fascinating setting, culturally enriching ... Ultimatelybeautiful. Very complex characters. This is a book I couldn't wait to get back to whenever I had to put it down.

I couldn’t stop reading it, one day I read for twelve hours straight. As a Spanish speaker and enthusiast of everything Jewish, every detail, the Ladino phrases, the names of Sephardi dishes, the description of characters, their feelings, thoughts, the description of politic views, politic movements, small details of life like the use of the “privy” or the room with air ventilation to keep the food fresh, all so beautiful and painful, for me specially Rosa, how it hurt… the only but I give to the book, and the reason of giving only four stars, is because I felt that the ending was rushed and something didn’t make sense. Gabriela’s attitude didn’t make sense and then some issues were left unresolved, left as “nada” in my view. I won’t enter into details so as not to spoil the book. But in general it was a beautiful tale.

I love to read a book with history and romance. Israel before Independence war, and Sefardi culture. A family like any other.

The story is different from netflix but i really enjoyed reading it. Not only i learnt from Jérusalem under the different periods through 4 and even 5 generations of people but i was also immersed with the complexity of the characters history. I loved it. I wonder how far or close Sarit Yishai-Levi took inspiration from her own story and family. You cannot write such complex story if you had not been tormented yourself, bending under the weight of such a family burden. This is a very jewish sephardim family story. I loved it how the rules impact lives and how these can lead to tragedy as well it brings them a strong repère (french), guidance in life. If the Queen of Jérusalem hadexisted under some traits, it is un très bel hommage.

What a wonderful absorbing book. I loved it. A story that angered me, frustrated me, and keep me turning the page. I'm not sure I actually liked any of the characters, they were damaged and complex, but fantastic tale of love and war. More please.

The book is like a frustrating jigsaw puzzle. As the puzzle comes together; like the story of the family. Love less marriages seems to be the curse of the family. Add in the history of Israel and the customs of the different Jewish communities you end up with a good read. I do wish that the Netflix series had remained true to the storyline of the book as it would have made it a more intriguing series.