The nar­ra­tive can be read as a his­to­ry of the Jews in Europe and Amer­i­ca, a mod­ern telling of the sto­ry of Job, a fic­tion­al­ized descrip­tion of the phi­los­o­phy of Spin­oza, or a love sto­ry in New York. The sto­ry ranges back and forth over a hun­dred years of time through Europe and Amer­i­ca, sub­urbs and city, reli­gious and sec­u­lar view­points with charm­ing side-trips to doll­hous­es, choos­ing a dia­mond and mus­ing on life as a sin­gle woman on the west side of Man­hat­tan in New York City. A first nov­el of pow­er, strength and emo­tion that weaves sto­ry­telling and moral­i­ty into a work of art. The author is the recip­i­ent of the pres­ti­gious Edward Lewis Wal­lant Award for this book. (Fam­i­ly tree is appended.)