In this affecting, perceptive debut novel, Rachel Kadish reflects on the ghosts of the past, the tensions of war, and the difficult bonds of family...
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reviews
Sep 22, 2009
Katherine
rated it: 
I bought this book because I loved "Tolstoy Lied" by the same author. In "Tolstoy" the characters were very well developed and I truly cared for each of them. "Tolstoy Lied" was released a year after this one, but I figured "Who changes a lot in one year?" I was very wrong.
"From a Sealed Room" was very slow. The characters were kind of thrown into your face at the beginning and I had a hard time keeping them straight in my mind as I More...
"From a Sealed Room" was very slow. The characters were kind of thrown into your face at the beginning and I had a hard time keeping them straight in my mind as I More...
Aug 05, 2011
Well-written, but a little confusing. Although the blurb says the book interweaves three lives, it feels more like she started one story (Tami's) and moved on to Maya's, which I didn't mind too much because Tami's story is boring. It's hard to want to read about an unlikable person. I like the treatment of an abused woman and the difficulty she has getting away from it. I like bits of the Holocaust survivor's story, though sometimes it gets tedious. The book is too long, I think and the ending f
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Aug 16, 2009
Karen
rated it: 
Beautifully written, though I'm not sure what I learned from this book. The story's been told many times before...and this one is from an American girl who goes to Israel, learns about herself and her family, her relationship, her roots, and so on. Love the perspective but was somewhat confused as to the "downstairs" character. Would love to have seen more of her.
Dec 02, 2011
"For anyone who traveled in Israel in the 1990’s, this is a must read. Wholly apart form the interesting characters and well developed story, the author’s prose captures an era, a mood, and a sense that hangs in the Jerusalem air known to all who frequent the city, but that have heretofore defied description." - Lisa Bernstein
Mar 28, 2008
Jamie
rated it: 
I finished this book only because I was hoping SOMETHING monumental would happen in the end to redeem this story. Sorry to say, it never did. This book was pure character study. I was so frustrated by the heroine's stupidity that I found this difficult to read. The one character who could have been interesting and made a great story died before anything could develop. I was very disappointed in this book.
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