I did judge this book by its cover, and for once I did right by it. It's not one of those books you're immediately hooked, but more like a slow-burn that draws you in more and more until you can't get enough. At least it was like this for me. I loved the combination of Historical Novel and Jewish life. I think I've learned a lot from reading this one. It's rather slow-paced, but when you think about it, traveling in 1890 wasn't that fast either.