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This book was really informative about a horrible time in history..but the coin
cidences were just to o far fetched. I mean really, too far fetched. I guess
that is what a writer does...is create the impossible. Then she wraps up every
thing way too neatly to be real life. This one should be classi fied as Fantas
y, not historical fiction. Just my humble opinion

Wow Tara! I liked the book. I can see where it l ooked like she was reaching f
or the story, but it definitely held my attention, the mystery of it al l. I l
iked how the point of view kept changing in the beginning of the book and then
how it changed to the singular point of view. The thing that re ally made me t
hink is how much our childhood can i nfluence our adulthood and the influence of
pain i n our lives...how people choose to shed it or hang on to it.

I liked the writing and the story kept me involved . What I hated was the roman
ce at the end....I me an really? That was the part that ruined it for m e. Way
too easy to wrap it up that way...and way too far fetched.

Overall, I liked the book, but due only to the his torical part of the plot. Th
e modern researcher p art should have been limited to the connection bet ween th
e present family and the 1940's family thro ugh the apartment. The part about t
he researcher' s marriage breaking down and her pregnancy seemed tangential. Th
e author's attempt to connect it rel ied too much on describing the researcher's
emotio nal reactions to seeing the memorial plaques, cont acting the family in
Italy, etc.

The main reason I am in a book club is to read sel ections I would not normally
choose. I enjoyed the book for the information of the different time pe riod an
d country. At first, I struggled reading th e sad details of the internment, but
when the auth or switched back and forth from past to current ti me period, I a
ctually enjoyed reading the book. My ultimate judgement of a new book is if I f
eel I l earned something new, and in this case I did.