This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It’s breathtaking yet profoundly simple. The author truly makes you think about uncomfortable, complex social interactions. How on earth would you relate to or care for someone who survived something as hellish as the Holocaust? How do humans relate to each other while grieving different losses? How do factors such as race, religion, and socioeconomic status factor into such situations? I loved that although this book was not my normal “cup of tea,” I couldn’t put it down. The characters are well developed, the storyline is easy to follow and doesn’t derail into various subplots (as these types of books often do), and I found myself wanting more at the end. I would recommend this book and I will read it again myself, probably more than once. ( )

I really like Yitzhak, quickly renamed Ike by his cousins. Conscious of the opportunity he has been given and a journalist by trade he is a quiet, but trustworthy observer and narrator of his new home. Through his eyes we see the America of pre Civil Rights where the women of the town are still trying to find their own way and the often painful parallels of his recent experiences and those of the African Americans in the story.

When he becomes friends with a widow who is a member of the Reform Temple (his relatives being members of a Conservative synagogue) we are also presented with a really interesting insight into the tensions between to 2 congregations. The distrust and even hatred between members of the two groups becomes petty in the extreme when presented to us through the eyes of someone with Ike’s recent experiences. This is the part of the book I most enjoyed a quiet but pointed social commentary with a really likeable lead.

What I enjoyed less was an extravagant sub plot pertaining to Ike’s cousins slightly shady business and expansion plans – I found this to be distracting in the extreme, it removed rather than took away from the novel ( )

In this moving novel about a Holocaust survivor’s unconventional journey to 1940’s Savannah, Georgia, Rabb delves into questions of religious expression, racial identity, and cultural assimilation. Discomfort between members of a Reform Temple and a Conservative Synagogue surface. A Jim Crow southern society is exposed when a black employee’s son is viciously attacked and he writes “Here they kill us one at a time and that’s the difference”. Other political issues are also addressed when some of Savannah’s Jews show support for the development of the state of Israel. Jonathan Rabb has created a compelling look at Judaism in the deep south and the complexity of the postwar society.

A Holocaust survivor is sent to Savannah Georgia, which has a large population of Jews. Not only does the reader learn about the complexity of the Savannah Jewish community, but comes to realize that after surviving a concentration camp, returning to life in a new country is not easy, especially in a community where hate of the negro is strong. ( )

I requested a galley of this book because it revolves around the Jewish community in Savannah, Georgia. Since the main character is a Holocaust survivor you may think the book is about the Holocaust. Well, not really… It is about a survivor who has to adapt to a culture so vastly different than what he knew.

Yitzhak Goldah (Ike), the survivor, comes to Savannah to live with his distant cousins, the Jeslers. Trained as a journalist he is a keen observer. While he is immediately accepted into the Jewish community, he learns that the Jews of Savannah have mostly assimilated into the culture around them. But there is still a sharp divide between the Reform and Conservative congregations. This is a major issue as the Jeslers are Conservative, and Ike falls in love with a Reform lady. Ike also learns the fine distinction of privately being friendly and caring about the African-Americans who work for the Jeslers, but keeping them at a distance in public. This story takes place about 20 years before the Civil Acts Movement.

Mr. Rabb expertly took me into the mind of Ike, making me feel like I was seeing through Ike’s eyes. I could feel Ike’s reactions to the drama, the fear, the love, the confusion, the uneasiness. I was happy because things seemed to be going so well for him, but then devastated when someone from his past threatened his new life.

This book made me think about attitudes in general. When you have been through a devastating event, it shapes your outlook on life. Previously serious issues now seem so petty, so trivial. This is what Ike wrestled with. I was impressed with the strength to be on his emotional rollercoaster yet to outwardly remain calm.

The book has no “action scenes”; rather it is a look at day-to-day life. It was certainly a different read – in a good way.

Thank you to Net Galley, and Edelweiss for the advance galley in exchange for an unbiased review. ( )