In January 2003, the Berest family received an unsigned postcard with the names of four family members inscribed on it - all these family members died in Auschwitz in 1942. For some time the card is put away unthought of. After her daughter tells a story of an antisemitic comment at school, Anne decides that she wants to figure out who send the card and why. Through a series of genealogical finds and research, the family looks back through time and finds a closer connection with their ancestors and what it meant to be Jewish.

 

This story absolutely broke my heart. This novel's characters are actual members of the author's family who died in the concentration camps in a very short period of time. The details provided are so well told, they express the true nature of what happened during World War II without being disrespectful. There were two sections of the book where I felt the need to pause and reflect on what I had just read because they had affected me so greatly.  The translator, Tina Kover did a beautiful job translating the original novel written in French to English. In some translations, the words or meanings seem awkward or disjointed but that was not the case in the novel. This is one of the best books I have read in some time and will be one I purchase for my shelves. I believe this will be one of the bestselling novels of the year. If you only read one book this year, it should be this one.