The biggest problem with this is that it is a memoir. As such, Baszile is restricted by the fences of realism and history. The characters, as are most with nonfiction, aren't very well defined because they rely on memory to flesh them out and create them. While I am sure that the author remembers her family vividly, they fade to a kind of dull shadow to me. This is something true of most memoirs, though. The only discernible difference between this and other memoirs that I have read is that Baszile warbles from one event and time to another rather drastically. Many of the chapters are just particular moments in time that become little more than the type of stories one would expect a family member to recount; "Did I ever tell you about my first job?..."

Baszile, again, as with most memoir writers, does not have the creative knack, the flare for writing, that fiction authors do. This is not In Cold Blood; it is a recounting by a history professor. Intelligence, unfortunately, does not automatically create interesting writing. This is the novels greatest fault. The writing is not very good. It is clear and distinct, but it is not interesting. The only thing that a memoir can do to hold on to interest is to focus on a moment of interest, as Night does with the Eli's journey through the concentration camps. The most interesting moment in the novel was her father's battle with his past and his future, and yet we only get to see a fraction of this and then it slips beyond our view.

To put it simply, the novel just is not fun to read. It is dry and boring. Parts of this are important, and I'm glad I have the perspective of them, but it was a slog to get through.