A review by clairefrances_8
The Lost Shtetl by Max Gross

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is not a book meant to be read quickly. I’d say it’s a  piece of fiction that talks through the Holocaust and contemporary antisemitism as if both the reader and the lost shtetl had never heard about any of it. Noted in the acknowledgments section are a number of experts that the author consulted during research and writing which was nice to see considering the author specified they hold no particular religion. 

It should be noted that this reviewer is not Jewish and therefore unable to review the “authenticity” of diaspora that is woven into this narrative.