i really, really enjoyed this. the story is captivating enough but it's the writing that keeps you so completely engaged. beautiful all around. i wish the narrator and his younger sister were slightly older because it's a little hard to believe they'd speak and behave as they do for their ages, but other than that it's virtually flawless.this jew learned only about halfway through that the title of the story is from a christian hymn which, when i looked up the text, is prophetic in how the story unfolds. even with all the foreshadowing in the book and in the hymn, it's still not the ending you entirely expect (although with a closer reading of the hymn maybe i should have) but even if it was it's still such a satisfying read. and i normally get turned off by stories that feature g-d or faith, but not this one.so many lines like this one: "Well, we all hold history differently inside us." but most of it isn't a line or two that you can pull out as lovely, it's just so beautiful as a whole. excellent read.
