Leandro Igor Igor itibaren Pryvil'ne, Rivnens'ka oblast, Ukrayna
An artful weaving of past and present--Ukrainian life now juxtaposed with an American Jew in search of the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis, and the imagined life of the American Jew's family in the Shtetl Trachimbrod. Though clever and entertaining, this book made me think about what I know or think I know about the holocaust as fantasy, fiction, and history altered for the sake of saving sanity or filling in missing links were unveiled. Also, Alexandre's mild reinventing of the English language is quite charming. It's like someone gave this Russian/Ukrainian man an English thesaurus and he didn't quite choose the right word, but English speakers can still understand him.
Great book. I loved that it was told by the family dog but not in a gimmicky way. The main characters are well developed but the supporting cast could have used a little help. I'm not a race fan but I understood the comparisons. I truly loved reading this book and couldn't put it down...
I am utterly shocked that this book doesn't receive 5* from every individual who stumbles across it. It's hilarious, a celebration of language and wit. It had me unashamedly laughing out loud on many occasions and I don't hesitate to recommend to anyone with a strong sense of humour and a love of eccentric characters.