I was attracted to the theme of this book, but the author makes you work excessively hard in getting to the core. This book could have used a redraft and/or a good hard edit - I was struggling to get through it and skipped quite a lot of it. Not because I have a short attention span, but because of the repetition and focus on boring minutiae, which I don't think adds anything to the story. I'm not sure whether the author thinks her readers are unable to grasp subtleties therefore need everything spelled out for them, but I feel this could have been fixed with further drafting - it really has the feel of being a little undercooked. Better editing would have also fixed the misuse of many complex words and phrases, which you do not expect to read when the format is letters from a professional travel writer (the narrator). All power to the author for winning the 2005 Orange prize and achieving success in a tough market, but I would not rush out to read her other books.