, written by Vladimir Vertlib and translated into Spanish by Richard Gross, is a sweeping historical epic that follows the 90-year life of its titular character. The novel is framed by the arrival of Rosa Masur in the small German town of Gigricht in the late 1990s, where she is asked to contribute to a book celebrating the town's 750th anniversary. Her story, however, transcends a simple commemorative entry, acting instead as a "monumental fresco" of 20th-century Russian and Jewish history. Plot and Narrative Structure
: Rosa’s life spans from a small Belarusian village known for its pogroms to the "construction phase" of communism in Leningrad.
: She recounts working as a textile laborer and German translator, enduring the devastating 900-day Siege of Leningrad —where survival meant eating soup made from wallpaper glue or pets—and facing the systemic anti-Semitism of the Stalinist era. Themes and Style
The story unfolds through the memories of Rosa, an intelligent and fearless woman who survived some of the most brutal events of the 1900s.
: In Germany, historians interview Rosa about her past. The narrative is sparked by a controversial document she possesses—one that experts believe must be a forgery given its improbability.