This was a very satisfying read. A story that connects The Spanish Inquisition, Cristobel Colon (aka Christopher Columbus) and the exiling of the Jewish population from Spain.

[a:Mitchell James Kaplan|4277594|Mitchell James Kaplan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1285335040p2/4277594.jpg] took 6 years to write this book, and the end product deserves praise. For such a weighty subject, the writing flows and the story grabs you by the hand and leads you through the medieval world of what we now consider Spain.

The main protagonist, Luis de Santangel, Chancellor to the court of Isabel and Ferdinand, is a 3rd generation Christian (what the "true" Christians called a converso: one whose family converted from Judaism to Christianity-probably under duress). Luis finds himself, not questioning his faith, but questioning if his faith is only one that should exist. His contacts with Muslim and Jewish citizens lead his family into terrible danger with the Inquisitors. The extremes the Catholic Church went to convert the world is not new information for me, and yet reading of it can still make me tremble and shake my head.

This was not only a study in judgement VS acceptance, but the story of man whose heart fought his brain trying to make sense of it all.

Kaplan is scheduled to publish his new book, Rhapsody( featuring George Gershwin), is scheduled for release later this year. I am looking forward to reading more by him ( )

In this story of love, God, faith, and torture, fifteenth-century Spain comes to dazzling, engrossing life. ( )

[b:By Fire, By Water|7057397|By Fire, By Water|Mitchell James Kaplan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348013296s/7057397.jpg|7308953] contains all the elements of the best historical fiction. It's well-written, well-researched, but more importantly, it has an engaging plot and memorable characters. And I left the novel understanding more about the place, the history, and its human drama than when I had entered.

There's political intrigue here, and even a clever touch of religious conspiracy (loved the appearance of the "Toledot Yeshu"!).

I highly recommend By Fire, By Water.

SRW ( )

Santangel, a convert to Christianity, finds his loved ones implicated in a murder. His faith in Judaism is reignited, he falls in love, meets Christopher Columbus who offers S a chance to travel to the new world.Interesting story of insidiousness of fear and bgiotry. Immersive in 15th century Spain, at all levels of society ( )

This book is a story of the Spanish Inquisition showing the intolerance of the Catholics toward the Jewish population and how the Jews banded together to help each other. It amazed me when I think of what Christ, who was so kind and forgiving, would have thought, felt and done to aid the Jews. ( )