3.75 stars

I can see elements of a Great American Novel here. Jewish and Black people work together, both groups being persecuted. Prompted by Chona’s giving heart, they hide the young deaf boy until the incident where he’s taken away. 

This novel has a very slow pace, which I don’t mind, but characters kept getting added and I was having problems remembering each one … on top of when I put it down, I wasn’t very interested in picking it back up. 

While there are good themes to dig into here, the underwhelming reading experience keeps me from eating it higher.