Zimler, Richard. The Last Kabbalist in Lisbon. Overlook Press, 1998, 318 p. Lisbon in 1506 was not a safe place for Jews. The Inquisition is in full swing in nearby Spain and a drought is the excuse to make Jews in Portugal the scapegoat for God's anger. Whipped into a frenzy by Dominican friars, Lisbon's Christians go on a rampage, murdering scores of Jews. Some are burned, some are stabbed, some are thrown from rooftops. No abomination is too sordid for the mob once they begin their orgy of death and destruction. One of the survivors is young Berekiah Zarco. Zarco's uncle Abraham is one of the elders of the community and a renowned mystic. Abraham is training Berekiah in the ways of the Kabbalah, a Jewish mystical tradition. But Abraham cannot escape the death that is all around and Berekiah finds him dead, murdered, in their cellar. Berekiah resolves to solve the mystery of his uncle's death. Risking his own safety, he moves through Lisbon, following clues, until ...
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Liss, David. The Coffee Trader. Random House, 2003, 389 p. Miguel Lienzo is a Jew living in Amsterdam in the mid-17th century. One of a community of Portuguese Jews, Lienzo is a trader on the Exchange, the Dutch market for buying and selling commodities and futures. As the book opens, Lienzo is down on his luck. After enjoying relative prosperity and the noteriety that goes with financial success, he made some unfortunate trades that didn't work out. Now he's living a debtor's life, scambling to avoid his creditors. Then along comes Geertruid, a mysterious Dutch woman, with a proposal that Lienzo finds irresistible. It's time to invest in coffee, Geertruid tells Lienzo. Coffee is still relatively new in Europe. Geertruid gets Lienzo to try a few cups and soon he's ready to throw in with her. When he's drinking coffee, Lienzo feels invincible. It's amazing powers give him extraordinary mental insight into other trader's behavior and soon he hatches a p...