Ordinarily I would not have picked up this book, but it arrived as part of Elliott Bay Book's "Maiden Voyage" series (staff picks of first novels). It kept my interest all the way through, which is saying a lot for a genre of fiction that I generally don't go for. It occasionally zigged when I thought it would zag - there was a point where I happily expected it to leap off into the realm of magical realism (alas, it did not). The characters are interesting, although not all as clearly drawn as one might hope. But, hey, it's a first novel and a very accomplished one at that.