I found this book to be a real disappointment. Overall, I think this woman needed to edit and revise her book. The characters were not people that I would ever want to spend time with and the plot was twisted around. At the end, I sat and figured out how the story happened, in order, but I don't think a writer should ever require so much work on the part of the reader for something that is just basic structure. Also, there was a lot of meaningless description that didn't move the story forward. I am sad that I paid money for this book and the only thing I can think of that would help me get my moneys worth at this point would be to use it to heat my home this winter! I gave one star because of the wonderful book that could have been, if she had revised a few times.
 If you want to read good stories, skip this and go buy Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies.

Edited review on February 12, 2008
 Well, it's a couple years later and this still stands as the worst book I've ever read. My husband didn't believe me that it could really be as bad as I said it was, so he read it. To make a long story short, at the end he insisted that we follow through with burning it, which we did.  This is the only book I've ever set fire to. It was just THAT bad.
I found this book to be a real disappointment. Overall, I think this woman needed to edit and revise her book. The characters were not people that I would ever want to spend time with and the plot was twisted around. At the end, I sat and figured out how the story happened, in order, but I don't think a writer should ever require so much work on the part of the reader for something that is just basic structure. Also, there was a lot of meaningless description that didn't move the story forward. I am sad that I paid money for this book and the only thing I can think of that would help me get my moneys worth at this point would be to use it to heat my home this winter! I gave one star because of the wonderful book that could have been, if she had revised a few times. If you want to read good stories, skip this and go buy Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies. Edited review on February 12, 2008
 Well, it's a couple years later and this still stands as the worst book I've ever read. My husband didn't believe me that it could really be as bad as I said it was, so he read it. To make a long story short, at the end he insisted that we follow through with burning it, which we did. This is the only book I've ever set fire to. It was just THAT bad.