What a book! So densely packed with incredible stories, fragments of what the authors grandfather told him enriched with the authors imagination. Both grandparents are formidable characters traumatized by WwII or so it seems ... I wonder whether the grandfather could not be classified as a High ability person with all the traits he displays. This book keeps you in its grip for the full length of 450 pages. Only point of criticism is that Chabon is overdoing it in the detailed descriptions of clothes colors sents.