Dara Horn's first novel tells the family stories of Leora, a young Jewish woman from New Jersey, and Bill Landsmann, an elderly man from the same town. Bill's granddaughter is Leora's best friend, and is tragically killed in high school. Bill then befriends Leora and invites her over to show her slides of his numerous travels around the world, in which he catalogues Jewish life. The book then meanders backward in time to tell the story of Bill's ancestors in Europe, lives full of tragedy, and forward in time as it follows Leora's love life in the wake of her trauma over losing her best friend in childhood. The book is apparently supposed to be a bit of a callback to the Book of Job, though I didn't pick up on that until a strange bible-verse style first epilogue that makes it clear. Then there's a second epilogue that is even stranger, a quite different feel from the rest of the book.

I've read some later works of Dara Horn, and they're wonderful- 5 star reviews from me. This one is good, but not on that level. Perhaps understandable for a first novel. This doesn't hold together quite as tightly. ( )

A writer to notice and to keep in mind. This was her debut novel, which she wrote at the age of 25 (!), and I loved a lot about it. I also read her second novel a while ago (she wrote 5 up to date) and didn't like that one as much as this one, although I admired her imagination there. But it intrigued me enough to remember the author's name and go looking for more.

In this book, she chronicles several generations of Jewish immigrants (not in direct sequence), the main protagonist being a young girl - through her late teens and late-twenties who struggles with tragedy earlier in her life and trying to fit in at the same time. There is also very insightful take on evaluating the relationship and differences between moderately religious Jews and Hasidic Jews... A brilliant idea of an imaginary town underwater in New York harbor with its unusual residents. Which also leads to the last several pages of the book where the author dives into a slightly abstract way to make a point. But it works, even though so different from the conventional storytelling of most of the book. I say it's excellent for a debut novel.

Here are a few quotes that made me stop and ponder:

"The whole reason people want to believe in God is because they want to believe that the world isn't indifferent to their presence."

"It is often said that we are shaped by our experiences, but I don't believe it's true. Because we don't choose our experiences... I think we are not shaped by our experiences, but by what we do choose - by the way we react to our experiences."

"What do you really know about anyone, other than what they choose to show you? "

"Her "lovers". She was allowed to say that because she wasn't American. Americans weren't allowed to have lovers, unless they were describing their extramarital affairs. Instead Americans were stuck playing like children with "girlfriends" and "boyfriends", even if the girls and boys in question were well into their sixties. God forbid you should grow up".

I had to smile at this last one... ( )

Beautifully written, Interesting internal dialogue/memories, resonated with me such that I will want to read this again and refer back often to well-stated insights on human nature ( )

Another success from Dara Horn in the early/mid-then-late-20th-century-european-then-american-jewish-multi-styled novel. The best of this book is a realistic, complex hope and pathos. Moderately imaginative and occasionally moving. Worth it, but no real rush. ( )

I liked the writing and most of the content, but was disappointed with the ending. The characters were well developed and I was provided just enough information to keep my interest. I felt the final dream was unnecessary and detracted from the book. ( )