From Library Journal: "This powerful novel opens with Helene, a nurse in Germany throughout World War II, abandoning her seven-year-old son at a train station at the end of the war; the following chapters detail how she came to this point. Faced with the countless horrors of war, we realize, it is sometimes easier to care for strangers than for one's own son. Like the German people collectively during this time and like her Jewish mother before her, Helene is emotionally blinded by her own pain. Franck's writing is deliberately understated, deadened emotionally to reflect the state of the characters. Events are flatly reported without exploring their impact, and what is not said weighs heavily on the narrative. Not surprisingly, this book won the German Book Prize and has received international acclaim. Book groups will find plenty to discuss in this gripping novel, but it is not for the fainthearted or anyone who needs books to end on a happy note. There are no easy answers or pat resolutions in this dark novel, just a compelling narrative and solid writing."