Rare is a writer such as Jonathan Wilson, whose exquisite prose maps and overlays a gripping story. Perhaps the details of place, the tensions between factions, the struggle for possession of land are not so different in 2003. At the heart of Wilson's book, however, is an unforgettable human dilemma-- people caught in time , swept through a history that threatens to obscure their very lives. This book reminded me of THE ENGLISH PATIENT, but with a greater investment in the outcome of its characters. A must read. A brilliant book.