I could not put this book down. However, that does not mean that it was easy reading. At times I felt unreasonably close to the main character. I was both repulsed by her and sympathitic of her situation. She lived in a difficult world of hand to mouth farming, segregation, and misogyny. But, she was also disgusting in her treatment of the African habitants. I don't think I have ever read a more hypocritical analysis of African life in my life. The author gets it so right that you often find yourself cringing. At times I laughed out loud at the colonizer's treatment of the Africans.