“A Messiah who actually arrives is no good to anybody. A hope fulfilled is already half a disappointment.”

This one was a mixed bag for me. The murder mystery kept me engaged, but everything else felt like too much. There were so many characters and plot threads to juggle that it became hard to follow. The historical elements didn’t click with me - maybe because it’s a history I’m unfamiliar with - and the heavy use of Yiddish added another layer of complexity. There’s a glossary, which helped, but flipping back and forth got tiresome. By the end, the book felt more like work than an enjoyable read. If you love dense, intricate stories, you might have a better time with this than I did.