A story about Hungary during WWII , is the story of the Leve family and the untold story of Hungarian Jews. I haven't been this involved in a novel for a long while. The novel is based on truth and history and was incredibly moving. Any student of WWII will want to read this book. Any one who believes they already have read the best of WWII novels are perhaps wrong and should read this novel based on real family experience. Who knew what horrors existed in Hungary as they find themselves caught between the Russians and German's. Seldom am I brought to tears by a book, but this one did it. In my humble opinion, Julie Orringer is a brilliant author. Her use of the English language is amazing. She challenges the reader to think outside the box and open their minds to an excellent piece of truly academic brilliance. I loved it and the challenge as well. I found myself deeply engaged in the story and the characters.There simply were no weak characters...I felt their fears and could almost identify the smell of fear! The passion and love for one another was very real and not at all contrived. The flow of the book was like and amazing ride with no reverse!