Who by Fire tells the story of Ash and Bits, a brother and sister whose younger sister Alena had been kidnapped more than a decade ago. When their mother informs them that her remains have finally been discovered, it's up to wild child Bits to go to Israel and convince her now Orthodox Jew brother to come home for a memorial service--no easy feat as he's been out of touch with the family since entering the yeshiva.
The book is told from shifting perspectives, really getting into the minds of the various characters. I'm no expert on Orthodox Judaism, so I can't comment on how accurate the scenes in Israel might be, but I do know that I couldn't put this book down.
None of the characters are particularly lovable, at least not for me, but that didn't stop me from devouring this book--I believe it's called the train wreck syndrome. What I mean is that each character is a bit (or a lot) of a mess--the book itself is far from a train wreck. Indeed, it's fabulous.
The plotting, pacing, and writing all shine; I particularly love Spechler's conversational, down-to-earth writing style, which you might not expect in a book with such deep subject matter. Spechler shows that humor has a place everywhere, even when dealing with heavy topics, and this is something that I firmly believe as well.
I give this books five espresso cups out of five. I simply couldn't stop reading, and as I wrote to Diana after I finished, I then found myself imagining what happened to the main characters--the true sign of a great book.
