when it started i was whisked away on the jouney of Lillian the Jewish woman who had already seen much trajedy as the book began.  Lillian goes to America after a purge against the jews in her russian home town where her father and mother were killed.  She Dropped her daughter aged just 3 out of the window and told her to hide under the chickens in the chicken coop.  Her own death onlyinteruppted by fate, but the near miss left it’s scar.

Not able to find her daughter and on information given to her by an aunt that Sophie her dauhter was dead, she travells to America. She first becoms a seamstress in a jewish theatre company.

She becomes the faux mistress of the leading man at the theatre named Meyer.  Meyers father owned the theatre and knew Meyer was gay. Lillian then becomes the true mistres to Meyers father until Freida – her cousin from Russia comes to visit. She tells Lillian that her daughter is indeed alivel, that the neighbours rescued her thnking that Lillian had been killed along with the rest of her family.

Lillian then Tries to get back to Russia. Her plan to go from New York to Canada to alaska up the Yukon and eventually to Siberia.

She meets Gumdrop the prostitute, she gets put in prison, she walks along the telegraph route in winter, she rescues three children, she falls in love.

It was a good book – read it!