There is a certain kind of writing in Russian fiction known as the skaz, in which the narrator adopts a conversational tone in telling his tale, frequently addressing the reader directly. Among other things, this permits an intimacy on the narrator's part that makes his story more immediate. It is the skaz technique that Anatoli Rybakov employs in his masterly new novel ["Heavy Sand"]. It makes this incredibly gripping tale even more moving than it might ordinarily be.

The novel … is partly autobiographical, recounting the story of a large, closely knit Russian Jewish family from the beginning of the century through World War II. The narrator, Boris Yakovlevich Ivanovsky, gives us the history of his family and tells us of domestic events in the lives of its various members….

Interwoven throughout the course of the novel are the themes of familial love and the maintenance of one's personal...