I enjoyed reading this book very much. I loved it. There is so much to love in these pages, and so much attention to history. There is a loving attention to characters and their foibles that I found very endearing. I cared a lot about these people. The story resolved itself in an ending that, although completely implausible, was entirely satisfying. It was that kind of story--a story where I loved the characters and wanted good things to happen to them. The book is much more about heart than head, but I just let it in, and let it be what it was, and let Bernice McFadden tell me her story the way she wanted to tell it. I was richly rewarded.

The pace is breathless. I felt like Alice Through the Looking Glass getting pulled along by the Red Queen. Huge shifts in the story can take place in a sentence, or in half a sentence. Characters come and go and their stories are full of happenings and then they leave the stage. It's not a 'minimal' style so much as it is what I would call an "intensely compressed" style. This marriage of a simple semantic style with a global, historic, epic story was new to me. I thought it was a very effective way to tell this story, though, in which the history of the 20th century, in particular of African American social history, becomes the stage that these characters play across.

This is my first novel by McFadden and I'm very glad to have many more left to read. ( )

It is between a 3 and a 4 for me, so I rounded. Parts seemed rushed but an interesting book. Glad I read it. ( )

During World War II, two African American musicians, Harlan and Lizard, are captured by the Nazis in Paris and imprisoned at Buchenwald concentration camp which changes the course of Harlan's life.- HARD

Yesssss! Historical fiction done right. This novel introduced me to numerous historical events that I am now planning to research. If you've never read a Bernice McFadden novel, make this one your first. This novel chronicles the life of Harlan and his family living in Harlem pre and post World War II. She even takes us on an adventure as a black in the Holocaust. As Bernice McFadden is known for her gifted storytelling this novel proves no different as she intricately weaves fact and fiction resulting in spellbinding, captivating read. At times, I couldn't see where the novel was going but when she took me there, it was there! I don't want to say too much and give away the novel. Just read it. ( )

I went into this novel blindly. I avoided reading the synopsis of McFadden's 10th novel because I knew it would hold my attention regardless of the subject matter.
It did!

I knew the story was mingled with her familiar ancestors (in which I knew from her blog: firstborngirl.blogspot.com) fictional and some non-fictional characters.

McFadden fulfilled my expectations in writing a riveting, engaging and somewhat dark story. The picture of the man on the cover is an intro into the depths of the main character "Harlan". I wanted to see Harlan triumph and come out on the other side a winner in some form or fashion. He was in prison twice, watched loved ones die, fathered twins that he didn't know existed and dealt with internal demons.

McFadden wrote with prose and descriptive scenes that puts you in the midst of the story and next to the characters.

I rank this high on my must read list. I can't wait to read her next novel "Praise Song for the Butterflies " publication date: 8/28/18. ( )