The World to Come by Dara Horn

Ah. I am so torn by this book. I absolutely adored, it but the ending really left me yearning for more.

The story is mainly about Benjamin, who attends a singles get together at an art gallery and recognizes a painting by Chagall that once was owned by his family. He decides to steal the painting, and we then begin to follow the repercussions from that action.

We also are plunged into Soviet history regarding Chagall himself, some brilliant Yiddish folklore (I could reread the novel again simply to reacquaint myself with the wonderful folkloric tales), and of course, Benjamin’s life as he figures out what to do next in this plot to keep the Chagall painting.

Dara’s writing is so absolutely stunning and the way she incorporates all of these amazing characters and stories is so beautifully executed that you can almost get over the ending. Almost. I wanted badly for there to be another 50 pages. I guess it’s left up to imagination now, which may very well have been the author’s intent in the first place.

Dara Horn is an incredible, fabulously descriptive author. I’ve read and enjoyed two of her novels so far. I will continue to follow her work and look forward to reading more of her books.