"The uncanny beauty of Van Booy's prose, and his ability to knife straight to the depths of a character's heart, fill a reader with wonder.There are so many wonderful sentences in this book, a reviewer groans for want of room to list them." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Masterful prose.From minimalistic sentences he wrings out maximum impact, stripping away artifice and elaboration in favor of stark, emotional clarity and honesty." -- Boston Globe "His writing is consciously poetic and at times aphoristic, and he deftly portrays his characters' raw emotions." -- Wall Street Journal "Van Booy writes like Hemingway but with more heart. It's a gorgeous story about people whose lives are connected all because of a baby who is saved during World War II. Warning: don't read this in public, or you might sob in front of strangers.

" -- New Hampshire Public Radio "World War II flashbacks, random acts of kindness, and the amazing thing that happens when seemingly disparate story lines come full circle." -- Daily Candy "Using restraint and a subtle dose of foreshadowing, Van Booy expertly entangles these disparate lives; but it's what he leaves out that captures the imagination. Full of clever staccato sentences bookended by snippets of inner monologue -- obvious, but ripe with meaning, the writing is what makes this remarkable book soar." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A spare, elliptical story of human connection, framed by the horror of World War II.The story snaps together beautifully. A brilliant if elusive novel that shows how a single act can echo through time." -- Library Journal "This short and deceptively simple novel, which affords the pleasure of discovering its well-wrought patterns, is likely to grow in stature as it lingers in memory." -- Booklist.