This is the one that was recommended by a friend in about 2015, and I've finally read it, impelled by its being fortuitously chosen by one of my book clubs.

This is the story of the coming of age of a Jewish teen who's left behind in late fifteenth century Spain, after the expulsion. He's the only remaining unbaptized Jew in a landscape otherwise judenrein. He's a resourceful person who has to negotiate the world of the Inquisition and of old and new Christians, without family and on his own. He has adventures and luck and is able to take advantage of what opportunity comes his way.

The author has done much research, and the resulting plausibility is sufficient to sustain the novel. But now that it's been a few days I wonder if there could have been a protagonist capable of sustaining such pressure. I mean he'd have to be more than a hero: a real paragon. And not sure he was.

That's why it's a great story but not literature.
This is the kind of book that helped me fall in love with reading as a child, a page-turner, as they say. But not now a source of aha moments and insights for me, nor did it make me sit up straight with recognition or feed my soul.

It was supposed to be a heart wrenching story of a jewish youth who lost his entire family and friends to the Expulsion of Jews from Spain. Or maybe it should have been a detective story, a theft and murder perpetrated by a cleric and the truth is discovered by the protagonist, and maybe even vengeance delivered. It could have been a self-search story of a Jew stuck alone in Spain, facing discovery by the Inquisition and still choosing to be a devoted Jew.

It is neither.
Though very detailed and full of explanations, the book fails to convey the severity of protagonist's loss, the story of the expelled Jews remains mainly untold and the atrocities of the Inquisition are shown but little.
The deeds, the travels, the decision makings of Yonah, the protagonist, are also detailed, ad nauseam. But the descriptions are dry, the motives and the logics are extremely weak. We do not see a character development, but have to believe to the author stating it does so.
Any hopes for a detective story in style of Eco's The Name of the Rose are vanquished promptly: the killer is mentioned in the very beginning of the book and even the vengeance doesn't come and the excuse is lousy.
Though the book is fast-pasing and promises a lot of excitement just on the next page, it never delivers. Instead of human drama we get a sugar-coated story of the Expulsion.

Nach einem etwas holprigen Einstieg hat mich ‘Der Medicus von Saragossa’ schließlich vollkommen in seinen Bann gezogen. Der Autor versteht es meisterhaft, durch seinen fesselnden Schreibstil die Leser in die Welt des mittelalterlichen Spaniens zu entführen. Besonders beeindruckt hat mich sein tiefes historisches Wissen, das nicht nur das Geschehen lebendig werden lässt, sondern mir auch geholfen hat, die komplexen Ereignisse dieser bewegten Epoche besser zu verstehen. Die Mischung aus spannender Erzählkunst und historischer Genauigkeit macht dieses Buch zu einem echten Lesevergnügen, das lange nachhallt.

Das vorliegende Werk ist überhaupt nicht mit Noah Gordons Werk 'Der Medicus' zu vergleichen. Das ist nicht gut, das ist nicht schlecht - das ist einfach ein Fakt. Hier wäre es sicherlich klüger gewesen, den von Gordon selbst gewählten Titel des Originals 'The Last Jew' (Der letzte Jude) zu nehmen.

Der Medicus von Saragossa beschäftigt sich mit dem Leben eines Mannes, der als Knabe im Spanien des ausklingenden Mittelalters und der beginnenden Renaissance zu überleben versucht. Seine Familie wurde getötet bzw. musste so wie alle anderen Juden das Land auf der Flucht vor der Inquisition verlassen. Aber er schlägt sich durch, lernt dies und lernt jenes, erlebt viele interessante Abenteuer und fällt schließlich dem Medicus von Saragossa in die Hände, der ihn zu seinem Nachfolger ausbildet. Nach außen hin ein Konvertit, nach innen aber ein Jude der seinem Glauben treu bleibt.

Es ist eine sehr interessante Geschichte die hervorragend erzählt wird. Die Personen des Stücks sind der Zeit angepasst, glaubhaft gezeichnet und machen auch eine entsprechende Entwicklung durch. Die Story selbst ist sehr gut aufgebaut und überhaupt nicht reißerisch, sondern dem Thema angepasst aufgezogen. Ein wirklich sehr gutes Buch, das die große Kunst von Noah Gordon herausstreicht.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Another excellent historical fiction from Noah Gordon (who sadly passed away in 2021.) Yonah Toledano is a young Jewish boy living in Spain with his father when this novel opens. It is late 15th century. Isabella and Ferdinand are the reigning monarchs and the Inquisition is official. All Jews and Moors are banished from the country.

Jonah’s father was a silversmith, a gifted artisan, and he has incurred the wrath of the powers that be. He sends Jonah to a cave in the hills and subsequently dies at the hands of the Inquisition enforcers. Jonah becomes a “wandering Jew,” hiding his religious beliefs and growing into manhood whie traveling all over Spain, trying to stay one step ahead of harms way.

This was both a coming of age novel and a picaresque adventure. It was an era of which I had little knowledge. I especially enjoyed the maps provided in my hardback library book and feel like I have a much more informed idea of Spain’s geography. (How long I retain it is another story!)

ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2023
Prompt #15- Three books, each of which is set in a different century (Book 1 - 15th/16th century)

Niezwykła opowieść o człowieku, który mimo wielu przeciwności losu, potrafił odnaleźć miłość i szczęście. Choć rozpoczyna się dość niepozornie, fabuła obfituje w zwroty akcji i zastępy postaci rozsiane od Gibraltaru na południu aż po Pireneje na północy. Mamy kontekst historyczny, odniesienia do ówczesnej wiedzy medycznej, akcję, ale także statyczne opisy. Chęć życia i niezłomność przeplatają się ze zwątpieniem i rozpaczą, by w końcu zwyciężyć. Chciałoby się rzec... jak w życiu. I takich zwycięstw życzę każdemu Czytelnikowi.

Buen libro con el que entretenerse y repasar la España de la Inquisición y los Reyes Católicos. Sigue la estructura clásica de los libros del género y de la época con amores y desamores, traiciones y donde los buenos son muy buenos y los malos muy malos, pero cada uno acaba como tiene que acabar.

The story is that, upon the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, young Yonah Toledano is left alone as the last Jew in Spain (highly doubtful!). He wanders around, bereft of family and community, taking on a variety of jobs as needed to survive. He apprentices to an armorer, which ultimately doesn't work out when his master is killed. Honor-bound to deliver a box of money to the armorer's brother, who happens to be a physician, Yonah finds himself apprenticed to the physician. He eventually becomes a well-respected physician himself, in addition to being a secret Jew.

Gordon certainly did his research, but does a pretty poor job of incorporating historical information into the story. Minor characters become mouthpieces for historical tidbits, usually delivered as part of a "conversation." This is a classic example of where "show don't tell" would be recommended. Nobody says, for example, "On October 15, 1483, Queen Isabella [fill in historical fact]," especially when conversing with fellow countrymen, who are presumably also familiar with their country's history.

The details of 15th century life that Gordon has failed to recognize are three-fold:
1. Yonah moves around Spain rather freely in an era when most people barely left their own villages in their lifetimes. Life was very local back then.
2. He apprentices himself to a variety of trades, which wouldn't have happened. Apprenticeship involved an agreement between master and student; Yonah's wanderings would have made him a poor candidate for such a long-term arrangement.
3. Yonah's two longest apprenticeships were with brothers, one an armorer and the other a physician, each practicing his trade in different towns. There are two major problems with this scenario:
- See Problem #1. The brothers were separated by a rather large distance. Life was local.
- They were also separated by two completely different professions at a time when such a situation would have been highly unusual.

I was also disappointed with the place that Yonah's Judaism took in his life. For a book named "The Last Jew," you expect him to be a bit more Jewish or at least introspectively so. He goes through some of the motions, saying a prayer here and there, but I expected some kind of internal and/or external struggle on remaining a Jew in the face of the Inquisition and the lack of a faithful community. Instead, Yonah has good fortune wherever he goes and he generally fails to thank God for keeping an eye on him.

The story is utterly predictable in its plod forward. All in all, the book is pretty boring and completely implausible. I'm rather afraid to re-read Gordon's other novels for fear that they're similar.

I read The Physician by this same author years ago and bits and pieces have come back at odd times to haunt me. I suspect it will be the case with this book as well. This period of Jewish history has always fascinated me (though my family's background is from an entirely different region.)

As to the book itself, I found the pace a little uneven and the story thinned out in points to test my powers of believability. But all in all, I am more satisfied than less. Even if it got a little pat in places, i still liked reading and learning of the world at that time. And we think it rough when forums go down. These people had to deal with their entire lives being yanked from them, fear of discovery and the regular hazards of 15th century life! Yikes!

This book was initially recommended to me by another BookCrosser. I'm glad of the recommendation.

Helkias Toledano è un famoso argentiere spagnolo di religione ebraica. I suoi lavori sono molto richiesti e il monastero dell'Annunziata gli commissione un reliquiario che possa conservare le ossa di sant'Anna e ridare prestigio al luogo di culto. Dato il valore dell'oggetto in questione, la consegna deve avvenire di notte, ma il primogenito dell'argentiere, a cui era stato affidato il compito, viene intercettato e ucciso dai contrabbandieri di reliquie che abbondano nella Spagna del '500.
L'assassino rimane senza nome, nonostante l'interessamento del medico di Toledo e delle indagini svolte dall'affranto padre della vittima. A complicare la situazione della famiglia Toledano, arriva il bando dei cattolicissimi sovrani spagnoli, i quali ordinano immediatamente agli ebrei di abbandonare il paese e i loro averi.
Ma l'Inquisizione è durissima; nonostante molti riescano ad abbandonare il paese, altrettanti numerosi ebrei vengono arrestati e torturati ed altri si convertono al cattolicesimo, pur di sfuggire ad una orribile sorte.
Helkias viene preso di mira da un prete che fa parte dell'Inquisizione e ucciso barbaramente. Il figlio minore Jonah, riesce a nascondersi e a sfuggire alla violenza. Da quel momento erra per la Spagna seguendo un destino incerto, ma rifiuta la conversione forzata.
Spostandosi continuamente e sfuggendo ai pericoli, approda in varie città spagnole svolgendo qualsiasi tipo di lavoro, finchè giunge dal maestro Fierro, abile armaiolo.
Fierro apprezza il giovane e cerca di proteggerlo, ma anche lui è denunciato all'Inquisizione e i due decidono di fuggire insieme, ma purtroppo il maestro Fierro viene assassinato.
Jonah intraprende il viaggio da solo e approda nella casa del fratello del suo maestro, il medico di Saragozza, un uomo buono ed onesto che lo aiuterà a diventare medico.
Inizia una nuova vita per Jonah, che da "fuggitivo", pian piano si trasforma nel rispettabile e colto medico di Saragozza...
Un libro interessantissimo dal punto di vista storico e molto coinvolgente dal punto di vista narrativo. Come si fa a non affezionarsi all'unico ebreo spagnolo errante?!

4,5Solo habia leido “ El médico” de Noah Gordo, y tenia este pendiente desde hace tiempo… y madre mia, tenia que haberlo leido antes.
Novela ambientada en la España del siglo XV, justo en el momento de la expulsión de los judíos por la Inquisición. En este caso nos encontramos en Toledo como ciudad principal, cuando es asesinado un joven judío lo que llevara a una investigación. Uno de los hermanos del asesinado, Yorah, será nuestro protagonista, el cual tendrá que afrotnar la vida adulta demasiado pronto, y salvar su verdadera identidad, lo que le llevará a huir y a sobrevivir por cada ciudad que va pasando, en una época marcada por la religión y por ello tendrá que ocultar sus creencias.
Según iba avanzando la historia, iba sufriendo con nuestro personaje, he aprendido mas sobre la “Santa Inquisición”, la cual mataba a todo aquel Judío que encontraba y a todo aquel que se les ponía por delante poniendo como escusa que no habia abandonado la fe judía… Aun así, Yorah consigue sobrevivir, conoce a muchísima gente dispuesta a ayudarlo, y según vas leyendo te vas preguntando, llegara a estabailizarse en algún momento? Lograra sobrevivir de todo esto?
Una novela que trata la supervivencia, la injusticia, la amistad, el amor, la lucha por lo que único quiere, habla de la religión y de la política… con una pluma maravillosa, el autor hace que te adentres en la historia y en la época de una manera estupenda. Después de leer “El judío” tengo ganas de seguir leyendo mas e incluso de releer “ El médico”.
El final para mi, es perfecto, maravilloso, se me ponen los pelos de punta solo de pensarlo, creo que cierra bien una historia y hace que el libro sea maravilloso.

Noah Gordon "Gydytojas iš Saragosos"


Šis autorius Lietuvos skaitytojams puikiai žinomas dėl savo knygų "Gydytojas. Avicenos mokinys", "Šamanas", "Savi keliai", kuriose pasakojama visą Koulų šeimos saga. Pati perskaičiau visą trilogiją ir ji mane sužavėjo. Tapau dar viena Noah Gordon gerbėja. Vos tik pamačiau šios knygos anonsą su nekantrumu laukiau, kol galėsiu perskaityti :)

Aš negaliu atsakyti istoriniams romanams! Ir tikrai nepykstu ant autoriaus, kai jo kurta fikcija ne visad atitinka istorinį kontekstą. Jei mane sudomino tema, aš tikrai "pagooglysiu" ir susirasiu dominančią informaciją.

XV amžiaus pabaigos Ispanija. Pats inkvizicijos įkarštis. Jona Toledano šeimos istorija pačiu juodžiausiu jo šeimai ir tautai laikotarpiu. Jis žydas. Ir nors žydai dosniai skolina pinigus bei užima svarbias pareigas katalikiškoje Ispanijos karalystėje jų tauta niekinama ir negerbiama.

Nuolatinė baimė dėl savo gyvybės, tikėjimo bei pasaulėžiūros iśsaugojimo, ir priesaika skatina jaunąjį Toledaną ieškoti būdų išlikti ir atrasti savo kelią bei asmeninę laimę.

Viduramžių Ispanijos kasdieninis gyvenimas, inkvizicijos siaubas ir beprasmybė, karalius dvaro peripetijos, žydų tautos tikėjimo papročių atskleidimas - vos keletas temų, kurias paliečia autorius šioje knygoje.

Lėtokas, bet nenuobodus N. Gordon pasakojimo stilius ir tas sunkiai įvardinamas jausmas, apimantis skaitant šią knygą... Buvo kaip tik tai, ko ir tikejausi iš šios knygos! Megavausi kiekvienu puslapiu. Autoriaus sugebėjimas nukelti į tą begalo įdomų ir mums mažai suvokimą laikotarpį.


Labai rekomenduoju perskaityti visiems, kam patinka istoriniai romanai apskritai, domisi inkvizicijos laikotarpiu, žydų tautos istorija bei tikėjimo subtilybėmis. Kai norisi lengvai skaitomos, bet tikrai geros knygos atostogoms, siūlau įtraukti šią knygą į vasaros skaitinių sąrašą :)