Jonathan Rabb

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 show more “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. show less

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 show more 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. show less

The title here refers to the socialist revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg; indeed, the action in this book takes place just after her death in 1919.Obviously, she is not the main character, but her death is a central element in this most ingenious novel.

Nikolai Hoffner is an inspector in post-war Germany's Kriminalpolizei(Kripo), and he leads the investigation of a series of bizarrre murders in which the killer engraves patterns in his victims' backs with a knife after he kills them. One of the show more bodies that he is called out to see turns out to be that of Luxemburg, and it too has the strange markings. Because it is Rosa's body, however, Hoffner finds himself and his investigation being thwarted, as the case now finds its way into more political channels. But Hoffner can't give up the case no matter what.

Hoffner is a very flawed individual, making his character just that much more believable. In fact, all of the characters are portrayed rather well. The author takes on a noirish tone in this book, which was engrossing from beginning to end. I would definitely recommend it to people interested in historical fiction, or who want something decidedly different on their to be read stack of mystery novels. Be warned...this is not a touchy-feely, feel good kind of novel -- it's gritty and realistic. Simply excellent reading -- and there's another Nikolai Hoffner novel coming out in 2009. I'll be there. show less

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 show more 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. show less