Shira Nayman

Beautifully written, an intense psychological mystery/journey. Covering the period of World War II and the decade after, the story moves back and forth in time, across continents, narrated in turn by three of the main characters. At least two of the characters appear to be running as fast as they can from their past lives. The mystery to be solved is who, what and how they will escape.

The novel deals with hard to take subjects, but if the reader can persevere, the story is ultimately one of redemption and determination. A tough read, but a rewarding one.… (more)

Separate yet, ultimately, interconnected stories of 3 characters in pre-WWII Shanghai, London and New York. I really only liked the 1st part - entitled, and about, Christine - which takes place in Shanghai. Perhaps it's because the other 2 locations are more familiar to me, but I just found the writing to be ...richer.... in its evocation of Shanghai and the characters that populate that part of the book. The novel itself just seemed to tail off after that part.... until the very end when the interconnectedness of the stories began to become clear.… (more)