I was initially intrigued to read a South African historical fiction novel. However, I was extremely disappointed with this book. I frequently cringed when I read through functional dialogue, poorly written detail of scenarios, and rudimentary story structure. I couldn't believe that someone who held high ranking in a country actually published a book that was so bland. The dialogue, I must emphasize, is so bad that it's hilarious.I read about halfway through the novel and HAD to put it down. There was no way I could possibly waste my time reading something that made me think that anyone could get published. And an Oprah book? Did she even open it to read or did she just read the back cover?