**** RECOMMEND ****Shortlisted : National Book Award 2011
A Collective memoir
The Rooster Reading Group pick for May
A wonderful, engrossing read!
Poetic and precise. How can something so sparse in description, so economical with words, be so vivid and emotive?
I loved the way the research is presented in such a personal way. I loved the use of the third person plural, "we". The grouping of the information in chapters stopped it seeming piecemeal, giving a focused poignancy and leaving a bittersweet aftertaste.
I have seen it compared to a mosaic but prefer : "Like a pointillist painting, it’s composed of bright spots of color: vignettes that bring whole lives to light in a line or two, adding up to a vibrant group portrait."—The Seattle Times
