Brilliant, well crafted, informative, and poignant. This story steeps you in the atmosphere of 1989 Romania under a tyrannical regime that has ruled through fear tactics by creating a deep surveillance state with blackmail and desperation as motivators.

Told in screaming whispers and succinct but powerful imagery, we follow Cristian as he is forced into the impossible position of informing on friends and family in order to save someone he cares about; all as the communist regimes in Eastern Europe are on the bleeding edge of cultural revolution.

I was not the same person after finishing reading this book, and I hope more Americans (read: millennial and younger) pick up this peek into the often overlooked/barely touched upon period of time.