I was in love with this book - at first. In the beginning it was engrossing - I had to read it. It's a very fresh way of writing, very reminiscent of Faulkner in the way that she weaves the different viewpoints of the girls, all in first person. I was intrigued and captivated.
About two-thirds of the way, though, the author got on her soapbox, and the characters and plot seemed to become secondary. No doubt the issues are importnt - African colonialism, the poverty of third world countries, capitalism/communism. etc. Unfortunately that is not why I read novels. If I want that I will read her essays instead.
It was very disappointing. Honestly, I felt cheated and let-down by the turn that the novel took, after such a promising beginning.
I was also surprised that the character Leah stayed with her husband, essentially repeating the mistake that her mother made with her father. True, their husbands were quite different, but Leah could have left and secured a future for her children free of famine and mal-nutrition and instead chose to stay - just like her mother did.
My disappointment aside, the book is definitely required reading.
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