I knew Ehud Havazelet was a great short story writer but I was intrigued when someone told me he wrote a novel as well. I looked it up and saw that it made it to the NY Times Notable Books of 2007 list so I picked up a copy and after reading it was very pleased I did. The story itself is about the Mirsky family and how they grew up with the Holocaust freshly imprinted in their minds. Of course you might be saying "Another Holocaust story-what else can possibly be written about it?" But the approach Havazelet took was one that showed the father who endured the camps still struggling to be able to openly show emotion to his sons. Nathan is the youngest and idolizes his older brother Daniel. When Daniel dies, Nathan and his father travel to San Francisco to collect Daniel's remains and try to learn more about how he lived, who his friends were, and why he died. They meet Daniel's girlfriend Abby and her son and we learn more about how they lived with Daniel and really what it is like for a small but aware child to live with a drug ingesting couple. I thought the story was well written but if I had one criticism it would have been to find out a bit more about Daniel and why in fact he was murdered. I think it could have made the story even richer than it was. A good book that I definitely recommend especially for fans who have only read Havazelet's short stories and want to see him in action with a novel.