Wow. 

In an insight into a community so rarely touched on, Alderman creates an intriguing set of characters and a fascinating tale of discovery of the past. 

I will not pretend that I did not go into this book without a pre-existing soft spot created by the 2018 film but this book surpassed even that. I enjoyed Ronit’s humour, the truth slowly weaved out of our moments with Esti and Dovid growing and realising he could be his own man. 

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys stories of the mundane brought into clarity, enjoyers of stolen moments and those looking for interesting stories out with the usual canon. It both fascinated me and left me craving more. 

Four stars.