Read it after watching the movie that was based on this novel. The movie deviates in certain aspects but that's really rather understandable. What I found most eye-opening about the events is the authors ability to wrap their story around the horrendous facts of history -- not just "this was the Holocaust" but the sheer inability of Jaguar to leave, the lag, the lag, the waiting, the politics. It broke my heart.

The aftermath for Aimee is so much more depressing than portrayed in the movie. The interpersonal relationships and the multi-viewpoints/interviews help to round out the love story so that it's not just Aimee reminiscing about her love.

The author's epilogue felt a bit of an emotional flaming poker that's meant as a call-to-action but felt a little bit of a rant against having to go through X, Y, and Z to get the story out of the aged Aimee. I am shocked that she so meticulously recorded her history with her lover.