Stunning prose, which does so much in such a short book. The opening pages describe a horrific event during the Holocaust; I believe this was initially published as a short story on its own. The rest of the novella takes place years later in Miami, and I found this section even more powerful, dealing as it does with the aftermath of the event, with Rosa's attempt to live ordinary day-to-day life in the long shadow of it. The passage where Rosa wanders on the beach looking for her underwear and ends up in a hotel, confused and angry, is particularly moving, as are her interactions with the elderly man, Mr Persky, who she meets at the laundrette. It is hard to explain exactly why.