Rina Frank’s first nov­el reads more like a mem­oir than fic­tion, and indeed it is based on her own life. Alter­nat­ing between scenes from the past and the present, Rina, the main char­ac­ter, tells best the tales of her quirky, Roman­ian immi­grant fam­i­ly. There is real love and loy­al­ty mixed in with tra­di­tion and antics.

Their bal­cony is the plat­form from which we watch the ener­getic, feisty, hard­work­ing peo­ple liv­ing in the poor­est neigh­bor­hood in Haifa just after 1948. The cul­tur­al mosa­ic is alive with chil­dren, games, and gos­sip. There are no secrets. ​“And it’s a well-known fact that God reveals Him­self on bal­conies.” 

But as Rina, the young adult, emerges, the uni­ver­sal con­se­quences of jour­neys and deci­sions take over. Her ​“man” — he nev­er gets a name — the rich fel­low from Barcelona, full of secrets, becomes a stereo­type, and Rina the vic­tim. It is a poignant tale, though, and we feel her frus­tra­tion, despair, and anger on every page. We hope that Rina remem­bers her real strengths, con­nec­tions, and support.