Critical Praise

"By taking apart her family's tapestry thread by thread, Mimi…learns important lessons about courage and the will to survive. The sense of place in this first novel, both in the past and present, is captivating and profound."

——Book Passage (News & Reviews) January-February, 2002

"Ms. Zackheim has written a fine story based on the lives of three generations of …courageous survivors…their lives are an inspiration and their stories deserve to be told."

——Rapport Magazine

"In the United States, two new novelists and their recently published works are…worthy of our attention….(Victoria) Zackheim's book is as much an excursion into history as it is into human relationships."

——Mordechai Ben-Dat, Canadian Jewish News

"In this lovely novel about a woman in mourning, remembrance of family history plays an important part…."

——Bellingham Herald, Nov. 11, 2001

"(the author) built a bridge of words that carried me back and forth across the ocean…I have heard and used the word "compelling" to describe many books. This book defines the word compelling.…This story of four generations of Jewish women is beautifully executed…descriptions of the lives, joys and pain of the characters are vivid and drawing." …a very original story by a gifted writer... Mimi's journey is both emotional and analytical…" …Ms. Zackheim must be carrying a sense of past generations somewhere in her DNA. I'm not sure her scholarly research skills alone, or her talent as a writer, could explain the compelling portrayals in The Bone Weaver."

——Barnes & Noble online reviews

"The Bone Weaver is a superbly written generational story, told from great-grandmother to grandmother to mother, about their lives and problems in struggling to survive and endure in 19th century eastern Europe despite pogroms, diseases, and other ills that befall life in the Jewish shtetl. The history of past survivors helps present day descendent Mimi Zilber better understand herself, where she comes from, and how to best set her sights on the future. The Bone Weaver is a unique, powerful, moving, inspiring, and very highly recommended novel."

——The Midwest Book Review, December 2001