This book is as close to perfect as any I have read in a very long time. Sheers takes a subject matter that has been reconstructed and analyzed unto infinity and imbues it with a startling and new life. In addition to the surrounding story of WWII, the stories that Sheers places within this context are fresh and psychologically raw. Plot, character and story are rendered lucid with prose that is as beautiful and precise as it is accessible. A wonderful read.

There are passages in this book that sound a gong and remind us why we read books in the first place: to encourage us to look at our world and see it in all its grotesque and magical lucidity. Murphy does it. Her language is precise. There's an occasional hiccup in plot, a missed rung on the ladder, though it's easy to forget once the next step's been met. This book is worth the time for those who love a seamless intersection of story and language, history and poetry.