What an awesome book this was. It was creative and complex and thought provoking and moving. Through the eyes of Harry August, a man who is reborn upon death over and over again, this book surveys many of the most pivotal events of the twentieth century and does so in a fresh, compelling way while also asking heady philosophical questions about the meaning of life, the nature of time itself, and the possibility and desirability of altering history. 
 While a lot of the material here is quite heavy, North also employed wry humor expertly. Much of her writing is darkly witty. Harry is a great character who has a fascinating array of reactions to his continuous reincarnations. Harry frequently skips around in his first person narration of his lives which could have been a real problem in the hands of a less skilled author but North never makes the development of the plot or the characters feel choppy. All the digressions about his lives, all his offhand observations are just as interesting and worthwhile as the main plot. And Harry's extreme longevity allows him the opportunity to build long, complicated, fascinating relationships with a great roster of supporting characters. 
 This book is so ambitious, so bursting at the seams with cool concepts and characters and plot twists, that it was an absolute joy to read from beginning to end.