Oh my. This book is a lot- in a very good way.

It is "easy reading" in the sense that the dialogue and writing level is that of a beach book. The characters are quirky, but don't appear to be deeply written or considered at first- for instance, one character only speaks in haiku.

But things are not always what they seem, and soon the story brings the reader to Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. We see the lives from the perspectives of Jewish and Nazi characters. The story twists like a knife into a different genre: from "bubble-gum" beach to gripping horror. About half-way into the book, I couldn't put it down.

The book wrestles with the ideas of forgiveness, religion, generational trauma, self-perception, and the complexity of human beings. It has an additional element, which demonstrates the power of storytelling on both the writer and the audience. In particular, the book delves into the terror of the Nazi regime in an authentic and deeply affecting manner.

I recommend this book and will certainly look for other works by the author.