This book is the story of 4 generations of a family living in East Germany. This book is very different from what I usually read but I was drawn in. I enjoyed seeing the personalities revealed through conversations and thoughts. I loved how different the writing style was for the thoughts of different characters. The story is not told in a linear fashion and I enjoyed being able to ask hubby questions about the history. Irina's cooking at Christmas over the years will stay with me. I loved the intermixing of familiar themes, such as food, memory, work, and then unfamiliar aspects related to living in Germany. Strikes me that around the world much is the same, and then details that are not. I do suggest this book for the characters in it.