MixedPhiladelphia Post-GazetteMusic conveys Shira’s somber nostalgia in a way Ms. Rosner cannot do with pure description ... The bird is an interesting feature in Shira’s life in the barn, but ... Ms. Rosner’s use of the bird feels forced once Shira doesn’t have to keep quiet anymore. The bird trope still offers a vehicle to express Shira’s inner monologue, but it remains frustratingly simple and doesn’t develop even as Shira’s circumstances change ... Even through...beautiful details, however, the characters come across as one-dimensional. Ms. Rosner understands the horrors of the Holocaust, but her story doesn’t always convey the complexity of tragedy — her characters’ emotions are unnaturally stagnant ... Ms. Rosner’s debut novel...is satisfying and sweet, but adds little new perspective to the vast Holocaust literary genre.
