This is a rags-to-riches story of a woman with good self-preservation instincts. The daughter of Jewish refugees, she is born in New York harbor so that, as her father says, "You are born here, they will not hurt you." Still, "they" try to hurt her, as she avoids being murdered three times. This might seem excessive in the hands of another author, but our heroine, Rebecca Schwart, leads a life on the fringe. Her father, a former math teacher, struggles to eke out a living maintaining a cemetery in rural New York. Her family never really gains acceptance there, and, after a miserable childhood of taunts and disappointments, real tragedy ensues when Rebecca is 14. As an adult she makes some serious mistakes but learns what's important in the process—her son. She's more furtive than plucky as she completely reinvents herself with new names for both her and her son about halfway through the book. Although I would say that she admirably maintains her integrity and dignity throughout, she does become somewhat manipulative in order to get what she wants financially—again, for the sake of her son, a piano prodigy. The letter exchange at the end changes the tone completely, mixing regret over a lost opportunity with some droll dogged persistence on Rebecca's part.
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