review 1: a good book . It took me a bit time to get into it.Written in 2 voices - one of a child in first person as the heroine is growing up in Haifa . The second as a third person of that child as a grown up.The third person is very distant and cold voice and i found it hard to connect to .The whole book is trying to cram lots of small stories of life into the plot and while some are very touching it causes the book to be semi superficial and not go deep where it could . review 2: Although a lot of things happen in this book it felt more like a list of family events than a fluid novel. The chapters move alternately between Rina as a stubborn young girl and Rina as a stubborn – some might say selfish – adult. The bones of a good story are there but I just never f... moreelt emotionally drawn to the characters. Perhaps it lost something in the translation. The cover of the review copy states that it is an “International Bestseller” so other readers may have a different reaction. less
