This is a very thoughtful and remarkably well researched story - I was captured by Alice's narrative from the first page and remained engaged until the end. I was equally impressed by the afterword as well as Benjamin's website that takes you into the world of Alice, the Oxford campus as well as Charles Dodgson. A reading guide is reportedly in the works and I can see this book becoming a reading group favorite as a very highly discussable book.

I thought this was a very intriguing book and that it offered many depths. Aside from the enjoyment of reading about England during WWI - or rather ANYTHING on The Great War - as it is not as popular in literature as other wars & battles - the detail is rich with imagery and easy for the reader to immerse into the story.

Having said that, the only nick I have - is that there were many moments when the narrative ran dry - the structure lost its lyrical rhythm and was, well, choppy at times.
Nonetheless, an enjoyable read and should be a very discussable one for groups regarding the ironies of war - while it takes away so much, it also offers opportunity and bounty to those who are willing to grab for it. However - the main discussion point is as it well should be - the value of one's word or a promise. For without your word, what have you then?

I approached this story with great curiosity - I have often wondered about what type of woman would marry an incarcerated felon. I thought that perhaps this book would provide some insight as to what drew her to this person and situation that, to me, was like playing with fire. So I had a very open and eager mind to reading her story. At the end – I cannot say that I am disappointed even though my original question went basically unanswered – but what I didn’t expect what that during the journey of Bandele’s story, more questions arose and were answered to in a beautiful and honest approach to herself with regard to her daughter (and future) as well as to her past. This is a story of one woman’s survival and endurance and I applaud that approach. Where I had a problem, is where she reigned in all of the other single mothers “out there” as sharing in her story and struggle. In a nutshell – eh, no. Not even close.

This was a wonderful book - Karen Essex has skillfully intertwined two timelines in order to bring to the reader a story rich with detail. The depth of the characters is enthralling and their involvement behind the plundering of precious artifacts makes this a MUST READ!

This story is very complex and while the setting is interesting and unique - the storyline is like a very small needle in a haystack of detail. Granted, the writing is superb and the authors are very knowledgeable on this section of history, still the reading is laborious.

Samantha Hunt uses her characters to bring the invisible world before us to examine - you may never look at a speck of dust quite the same! Though the book is steeped in science, it does not overwhelm the reader with minutiae - the writing style is wonderfully enriched. As the characters tinker with time so then, does the author - she walks you through the grandeur of the Hotel New Yorker and the streets of mid-twentieth century Hell's Kitchen in such beautiful detail that the imagery is complete in your mind.