** spoiler alert ** I was drawn to this book from the reviews as well as the historical fiction aspect of her novel. I really wanted to like the book but I did not. The novels main storyline was a good one and when Lillian went to the US from Russia during the time of immigrants in the 1920's it was a good start to the novel. Although, each chapter lended itself to more of a short story and she wrapped up each character with a finality to their life which I disliked. Another reviewer here has commented that Amy Bloom writes "great sex scenes", I disagree. I felt that it took away from the storyline and cheapened it. The author did show the numerous ways that people use sex to gain advantage in life. I felt it was too dominant of a theme and that it spoiled the book. I just knew what was coming up next as Lillian would meet a new character. It was unnecessary and unrealistic to think that one person would have those experiences! I thought that the best characters were Yaakov and John...they seemed to draw out the true character of Lillian. The ending left me feeling empty and disapointed, especially when it was inferred that this was all a dream!