Thoughtful and affecting ... An engaging read, though Montague does herself no favors with a confusing beginning — the novel opens with a character who disappears for most of the book — and long-winded sentences that require more than one read.
Montague is such a gifted, sensitive and big-hearted writer that she can extend her imaginative sympathy even to Magda’s parents, whose strict Protestant religion taught them to revile this essential aspect of their daughter.