This book is what I'd call a literary not commercial. It's not an action packed fast read. Some might consider it boring. I LOVED IT! The writing and characters are superb. The research into rare books and how they are preserved was fascinating. The history and lives of the people who influenced the book were well researched and fascinating. I wish that every one of the stories from the book's history could be done as a full novel. Rarely have I read short stories where the characters were so exceptionally full rounded. The stories of the people were so real, convincing and unique. I never realized how much the Jewish people have suffered; however, the novel doesn't oversentimentalize what happened and I think that was a good thing. Brooks allows the reader to come to her own conclusions. The conflict between the mother and daughter interesting and realistic. I have tried reading "The Year of Wonders" and "March" but I couldn't get too far because I got so turned off. Particularly March--he was so self righteous. In my honest opinion, this is her very best book. I do plan to revisit the others in case I didn't give them a fair chance. Brooks is an exceptional researcher and writer. I highly recommend this book.
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