The World That We Knew (Hoffman) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
[A] hymn to the power of resistance, perseverance and enduring love in dark times…. [G]ravely beautiful…. Hoffman the storyteller continues to dazzle.
New York Times


[A] bittersweet parable about the costs of survival and the behaviors that define humanity. [Hoffman] makes the reader care… about the fates of all of the characters. [She] offers a sober appraisal of the Holocaust and the tragedies and triumphs of those who endured its atrocities.
Publishers Weekly


One of America’s most brilliant novelists…. Hoffman uses her signature element of magical realism to tackle an intolerably painful chapter in history. Readers know going in that their hearts will be broken, but they will be unable to let go until the last page. —Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
Library Journal


An exceptionally voiced tale of deepest love and loss...one of [Hoffman’s] finest. WWII fiction has glutted the market, but Hoffman’s unique brand of magical realism and the beautiful, tender yet devastating way she explores her subject make this a standout.
Booklist


Hoffman employs her signature lyricism to express the agony of the Holocaust with a depth seldom equaled in more seemingly realistic accounts.…Ava the golem is the heart of the book.… A spellbinding portrait of what it means to be human in an inhuman world.
Kirkus Reviews


[A] breathtaking, deeply emotional odyssey through the shadows of a dimming world while never failing to convince us that there is light somewhere at the end of it all. This book feels destined to become a high point in an already stellar career.
BookPage