What a group we were. A pregnant girl in love, a kindly shoemaker, an orphan boy, a blind girl, and a giantess who complained that everyone was in her way when she herself took up the most room. And me, a lonely girl who missed her family and begged for a second chance” p130

Once I got into this book, it was an easy and compelling read. Septys does a nice job weaving together the 4 main characters stories, based on the refugee experiences of Eastern Europeans running from both the Russians and the Germans as WWII was coming to a close. A timely reminder of how humanity can be lost amongst nationalists fervor.

It took me a while to get into this book —. But about half way through I finally hit a stride. Interesting look at how the industrialized world relates to, mourns, forgets about, remembers and/or tries to help individuals suffering due, in large part, to the global politics and power structures we all live under.
Story told through compelling and well meaning characters.

So, I realized - life had finally broken through. How silly it looked now, my careful set of defenses against nature: my brazen magazine, my handsome husband, my Maginot Line of motherhood and affairs. The world, the real world, had found a way through. It had sat down on my sofa and wouldn‘t be denied any longer. p. 95