Chris Baldwin
What I found so impressive in this novel was the author's ability to map the emotional journey of Alexis, the central character - a journey that starts for her as an ambitious cub reporter seeking promotion in the high octane field of news media, through the dramatic diagnosis that changes the whole rhythm of her life and the expectations she has of herself and her chosen path. This journey is compounded with turbulent affairs of the heart, and the author, clearly drawing on visceral personal experience, skillfully brings the vagaries of fate into sharp focus. The many ups and downs of Alexis's journey are catalogued beautifully and often painfully. The reader is carried along as a sympathetic observer of the character's raw fear and courage in facing and overcoming such a devastating situation. The other characters are carefully drawn too, from the brotherly Omar, to Noor - Alexis's mother who demands to be her companion and nurse to make up for her waywardness in Alexis's childhood. The somewhat enigmatic Bedouin woman and her child too provide interesting points of focus through which Alexis is able to explore her own life, thoughts, and feelings. I very much enjoyed reading this novel and found passages truly moving.
