In the beginning, I enjoyed (for lack of a better word, considering the topic) Yakov's story. He left home yearning for a better life, lived secretly in a anti-Semite area to work at a job he was reluctant to take to begin with. I wish it had focused more on this. Instead, 3/4 of the novel was his time in jail after he was discovered, and the ridiculous accusations of a crime he did not commit. 
 I'm not going to say anything regarding his jail time. It was awful, even more so because he is Jewish. But near the end, the story focused more on politics and less on Yakov himself. Which I suppose is the point, as he was a sort of "representative" for the Jewish culture and taking the pain for them all (yes, the comparison to Jesus Christ is that obvious). 
 So I zoned out at the end. There are only so many times you can read, "he was searched, he paced, he waited for his court date." For many many pages.