This book is absolutely phenomenal.

It was a bit of a struggle to get into, as it's deliberately written in not-quite-translated English to deliberately retain a Yiddish quality to the language; but it only took a few pages to get into this, and it made the book sing. There's Yiddish words used throughout, most of which are given a translation if needed, some of which aren't, but it's the Yiddish syntax (I assume, not knowing any myself) that really makes the writing feel at once familiar and foreign. It gives the whole book the air of a successful literary novel which is often attempted and rarely achieved; beautiful, poignant and deeply evocative, that fosters a deep intimacy between the reader and character while maintaining a certain alienation from the character and the rest of the world, which makes the whole experience feel very real, even as this book plays with magical realism.

The story itself is powerful, incredibly moving, deeply traumatic and gorgeously hopeful. The way it is told allows for a strength of feeling you just don't get from anything other than this kind of fiction. Everything is nuanced and painful and exquisite and it pulls you along despite never feeling especially plot-driven. I read this book incredibly quickly with zero effort because despite (or because of) the unusual language the text just flows over you. It's devastating, darkly funny, euphoric reading.

I wouldn't be surprised if this wins awards, and in fact I sincerely hope it does - this is Booker material and I hope it's put forward as such. This is the book I will be pressing on everyone to read whether they like it or not and am not going to shut up about, and also the book I'm going to keep by my bed and re-read (I have already gone back to go over snippets and sections, which again, I almost never do). I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.