Lilia has always been on the run, though never sure why - she just knew that she and her father could not be caught. In the end, she learns and Mandel's journey to take us there was very well done. ( )

I have one word for this book - Wow. It contained elements that I think worked well with the story - a mystery that involves the reader in retracing the steps of the characters' past to learn the truth and the presentation of flawed characters.

The search for answers abounds: Why was Lillia abducted at the age of seven from her mother's home by her father? Why is Lilia, now in her mid twenties, still on the run.... if her father is able to settle down in one location, what is Lilia on the run from? What accident is Michaela so intent on learning about?

In trying to piece together the past to understand what happened to Lilia, we are aided by three flawed individuals - Eli, Lilia's most recent boyfriend that studies dead languages and believe his life is going nowhere; Christopher, the private detective originally hired to try and help solve Lilia's abduction case, a case he becomes obsessed with; and Michaela, Christopher's daughter who was abandoned by her own parents as a teenager and is haunted by Lilia's life as she understands it from reading her father's case notes.

The mystery of Lilia's abduction is used to help flesh not only Lilia's story out the stories of the other characters - their flaws, weaknesses, desires and fears. Presented to the reader from the POV of the various characters, moving back and forth between the present and the past, I found this to be a captivating debut novel, poetic and striking in its delivery. I look forward to more books by the author. ( )

Great book! I really enjoyed this one. Looking forward to more books from this author. ( )

Constantly on the run from her past, Lilia's life revolves around setting up temporary homes and jobs for herself, only to run and leave it all behind when her fancy for flight strikes. After arriving in New York, she begins a relationship with Eli, a young man jaded about his future prospects and friends. In fact, the only thing that seems to excite Eli anymore is his fledgling relationship with Lilia. She unexpectedly leaves him one morning, with no clues to her disappearance or contact information left behind. As Eli finds himself slipping back into depression and obsessing about where in the world Lilia has gone to, he is surprised by the arrival of a strange postcard telling him to come to Montreal, where he will be reunited with Lilia. Leaving everything behind, Eli rushes to find her. As the story of Eli's pursuit continues, it is interspersed with flashbacks of Lilia's childhood, to a time when she was abducted by her father and the ceaseless traveling began. After arriving in Montreal, Eli meets the woman who sent the postcard, Michela, a young woman with odd ties to Lilia, and who is anxious to find and question her as well.

This book seemed to have a corner market on atmosphere. From the first few pages, I felt that there was something singular about the mood of the story, and I was pleased to discover that this ambiance remained strong throughout the book. For example, there were a few scenes depicting the insomnia of one of the characters that I felt were pitch perfect, and I thought that the author had managed to capture the gritty feeling of greasiness that accompanies those long nights when sleep will not come easily. She also managed to convey the realities of the unyielding travel that Lilia had so perfected and the strangeness of being in a landscape foreign to your own.

It was these descriptions and the unique flavor that pressed dauntlessly throughout the prose that really held me to the page and made me want to see this story to the end. There was something so starkly realistic and unwavering about the way these scenes came together and the way that the plot played out that made the story within the pages seem very immediate and pressing. The book very gracefully explored the unique qualities that an unexpected absence of a loved one can take and how that absence can affect even the smallest details in someone's life.

In delving into Eli's emotional reactions to Lilia's disappearance, I felt the author was exposing some very fundamental truths about the pain of loss and the agonies of unexpected separation. When I was about halfway through the book, I realized that Lilia, being the on the other side, had never had to experience these longings and anguish. Lilia, being the perpetrator of these disappearances, dealt with other sufferings, but even these were of her own making.

Although I did really like a few of the characters, the only one I felt any emotional attachment to was Eli. I think this was intended, because he was the only one who got an ample amount of exposition and it was mainly through his eyes that the story unfolded. Initially I found him to be slightly detached, but as the story progressed he became more involved, both in his own circumstances and those of the people surrounding him. He evinced a great growth of character, which is something that is always pleasing for me to see.

I didn't feel the same affinity for Lilia or Michela, and though I tried, I couldn't get fully invested in either of their personal circumstances. I think this was due to the fact that they were much more disconnected from reality than Eli was. Lilia and Michela had some very similar character traits and behaviors, yet they were still starkly different and singular. I took some time to compare and contrast the two girls and was surprised to find similarities that I had initially not noticed.

Though the plot of the book was somewhat winding, it was not convoluted and therefore was easy to follow and get invested in. There were a lot of clever surprises hiding in the narrative that gave the story multiple levels and depth. I also appreciated the mood of the story, which was very somber and serious. The emotion seemed very consistent throughout and the characters showed a great and believable range of sentiment given their circumstances and situations. There were various aspects of emotional layering in each of the characters, particularly in the case of Michela. She was at once domineering and in charge, but also curiously lost and vulnerable in ways that did not outwardly manifest themselves. I also really liked the writing style. It was very fluid and nuanced, which gave the book a great readability and denseness, and the alternating sections were intertwined with a precision that wove the two sides of the story together effortlessly.

This was a very diverting and emotional read. I think it would be great for those who appreciate novels with both a well developed plot and set of characters, and those who really enjoy lyrical writing. Though it is a wistful and sad story, I think it deals with the themes of loneliness, abandonment and disillusionment very deftly and absorbingly, and the plot is highly original. If you are looking for something that is a bit out of the ordinary but cleverly written, I would definitely suggest this book. ( )

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel is an exquisite debut novel filled with fragile characters holding on to situations that may or may not define them. It is about being lost and not wanting to be found; being adrift in a city dominated by a completely different culture and trying to remain centered; and finding out whether you are happier in motion or in one place. Lilia is a 22-year-old woman who has never known a permanent address for more than a decade. Her father abducted her as a young child and the pair never ceased traveling across the United States for fear of being caught. Why did her father take her and why did her never stop and settle down somewhere with Lilia? As an adult, Lilia cannot remain in any place very long. Now living in Brooklyn, her boyfriend Eli suspects she will soon leave him. He studies extinct and endangered languages. Lilia speaks five languages. Eli and Lilia are polar opposites and perhaps that is why Eli is devastated when she leaves him. He travels from Brooklyn to Montreal to find her and to get some closure. But does she want to be found? Or would it be best if Eli just let her go? Will Lilia escape again? Mandel excels in her craft by utilizing visual descriptions, detailed characterizations and a heartfelt, surprising story. Last Night in Montreal is a provocative, spellbinding novel. ( )

I won this book on early reviewers and enjoyed this book it kept me wondering what was going to happen next.

Lilia has always traveled with her father, constantly since he took her from her home when she was 7. Eli - man she meets in Brooklyn, leaves and he follows. Michaela - French Canadian daughter of the PI following Lilia and her father, hard family life. Christopher - PI that becomes obsessed with the case, to the point of tearing his family apart.

Each of the characters' stories revolve around a tangential telling of Lilia's adventure with her father. Great ending. ( )

I read this book more than two months ago, and have been literarily (but not literally!) paralyzed , unable to write my review for fear that I wouldn’t do justice to this masterwork of literary fiction.

Imagine you and I have gotten together for coffee (or a glass of wine, pick your poison!):

me: Friend, have you seen this book!? It’s by a Canadian author, Emily St. John Mandel. Well, she was born in British Columbia; and after studying dance in Toronto, and a brief stint in Montreal, she lives in Brooklyn now. Her personal geography is interesting because the novel takes place in Brooklyn and Montreal, with flashbacks all across the U.S.

you: Hey, slow down! Your tongue is flapping like all those papers sticking out of the book … what’s with that?!?last-night-flags

me: Those are all the places I’ve left markers, flagging passages and ideas that struck me. (The photo doesn’t show all the markers - 14 spots I’ve marked, often tearing a marker in half, then half again to mark new passages as I found them)

you: So what struck you? What’s the story about?

me: On the surface it’s about a girl who has been on the run with her father for over a dozen years; Lilia was 7 when she and her father hit the road. She doesn’t remember what led them to flee, and she’s not sure she wants to remember. Mandel writes that “she’d been disappearing for so long that she didn’t know how to stay.”

Lilia knows that she and her father are a team of two against the world. Here, take a look at this section I marked; Lilia’s father has given her a book of Life magazine’s outstanding photographs of the 20th century; she leafs through it as they drive, and she is drawn repeatedly to the image of a crater in the New Mexican desert, formed by a test bomb near the end of WWII:

The crater showed the aftermath of an ungodly heat: the center was purest black, the brightest black imaginable, and around the edges of this brilliant darkness was a shining ring. This was where the unimaginable heat of the explosion had changed the sand to glass, and the glass reflected the sky. The same force levels cities and creates mirrors in the desert. It occurred to her that this was what being caught might be like. The white-hot flash of recognition and then her life blown open, a radioactive mirror in a wasteland, her secretive life torn asunder and scattered outward in disarray. Tears came to her eyes in the passenger seat. (p 70-71)

you: You say that’s what’s going on “on the surface” … what’s really going on?

me: Well, I can’t tell you too much about the plot, I want you to discover it for yourself. There’s so much beautiful imagery that starts early on; I can share some of that with you. The theme of vanishing, disappearing, is a constant. We meet Lilia when she is 22; she has been absent for 15 years.

Her latest lover, Eli, is a linguist studying dead or dying languages. His approach is clinical; Lilia looks at his books and journals and sees the personalities behind the languages, perhaps identifies with the dilemma … she questions what it must be like to be

One speaker of a language once shared by thousands or millions, marooned in a sea of Spanish or Mandarin or English. Perhaps loved by many but still profoundly alone; reluctantly fluent in the language of her grandchildren but unable to tell anyone her dreams. How much loss can be carried in a single human frame? Their last words hold entire civilizations. (p 45)

Another theme is the relationship between fathers and daughters - substitutes and surrogates of sorts. As you read, remember your Greek mythology and the ways that icons can be represented or symbolized. I can’t say any more about symbols, but call me (or email) after you’ve read it; lots to discuss with a friend or in a book group.

Consider Lilia’s hobby of photography - what she takes pictures of, what catches her eye. Is the camera something she hides behind, or does it, along with a rootless upbringing, allow her a unique view of the world?

There are several other important, mysterious (yet well-developed) characters in the novel, aside from Eli, Lilia, and her father. I won’t introduce you now, because I want you to meet them for yourself.

you: You knew it wouldn’t take much to convince me; I’m a sucker for these books you press into my hands. I’m curious about the straightforward storyline, as well as what lies beneath the surface.

me: Great, let’s finish this coffee before it gets stone cold, then head over to the bookstore …

Cue the music. Cut to us walking into a fun and funky bookstore. Quick flashes of showing each other books, walking to the cash wrap with Last Night in Montreal at the top of your stack of books. C’est magnifique!

full (non-conventional) review at www.sheIsTooFondOfBooks.com
She is Too Fond of Books ( )

Last Night in Montreal is a rather melancholy tale set in the bitter cold of winter. But the author's writing has a softness to it, a gentleness that takes away the edge without losing any of the suspense or the strength of its message. Emily St. John Mandel has a way with words. Her writing is lyrical and yet simple.

On the outset, this may seem like Lilia's story. Her father kidnapped her when she was 7 years old, and, most of her life, she was on the run, traveling by car from town to town. She has no recollection of her life before her father whisked her away, much less of why her father took in the first place. Even after her father decided to set down roots, Lilia was unable to stop moving from place to place. She would make friends, sometimes take on lovers, and always she would leave, most often without a word of warning.

It was like that when she left Eli behind in New York. Eli had no idea that the morning he sat working on his long-overdue thesis would be the day she would disappear from his life. She had given no warning. After she left, he felt lost. A postcard from a stranger in Montreal spurred him into action. He would go to Montreal to make sure Lilia was okay.

All her life, Lilia had felt as if someone was watching her. And she was not have been wrong. When police failed to locate her, her mother hired a private investigator to track her down. The detective assigned the case became obsessed with finding Lilia to the detriment of his own family, including his daughter Michaela.

And while this is Lilia's story, it is also the story of Eli, Christopher and Michaela, all of whom are gliding through life, seeking something they aren't quite sure of. There is an underlying desperation within each of the characters, even the outwardly calm Lilia. Lilia has been chasing after her forgotten past while all the meanwhile running away from it. Eli feels stuck, living his life but not moving forward. He has been trying to write his thesis for years and continues to work in the same mindless job. Michaela longs for her absent father, jealous and angry of the time he has devoted to finding Lilia, a complete stranger. She was on her own from an early age, her parents absent for much of her life. Christopher's life was spiraling out of control before he took on the search for Lilia and her father. Lilia was someone he could latch onto, an anchor of sorts. She was a distraction that kept him from facing his own problems. Each of these four characters were lost, their paths intersecting--the key, being Lilia.

I was just as mesmerized by Lilia as the other characters in the book. There was a charm about her that drew people in. She was worldly and ever changing. She seemed to float through life, or as Lilia would say, "ice skate" through it. It is obvious the author took great care in creating the characters. They are vulnerable, and yet each carry within them a strength that keeps them going.

The city of Montreal made a fascinating character all her own. Not to mention it was the perfect setting for the story. Both Michaela and Eli are English speakers in a part of the town where French is the main language. Already feeling unsteady on their feet, they are even more isolated, more alone.

There was only one minor thread in the story that stretched my own suspension of disbelief almost to the breaking point, a part of Michaela's family's history. Eli's wonderment over it made it okay for me though. It is always interesting to me how that happens. If a character acknowledges the doubt I am feeling, however silly I am being, I find it easier to move past it and accept that which I doubted in the first place.

Told in third person, the novel flits back and forth between the past and present and between the characters. The changes are subtle, but I had no difficulty following each of the story threads. This is definitely a book that is more about the process, the journey that falls in between the beginning and the end. While certain aspects of the outcome may not be surprising, the way it comes together was completely unexpected. Last Night in Montreal was a pleasure to read. It was beautiful--poetic even--in writing and profound in scope. ( )

This book was very good, I found the flow to be easy and kept my interest. The characters were well developed and the overall mood could have been heavy and dark, but Mandel did a great job at infusing hope and light into an otherwise disheartening tale. I think this would translate wonderfully into film. ( )

I really enjoyed the storyline in this book, so different from what I have been reading lately. Lilia, was a sad soul always leaving and not feeling like she could settle down anywhere. This one girl affected all those who searched for her and the families of those that searched for her. With a heart wrenching ending, somehow she finds stability. ( )

The novel spirals from a single night in a girl's childhood, pulling along other characters who've been drawn into its mystery. Not a single wasted word with Emily Mandel's deft prose, and I predict that if you enter this discrete literary world, you'll long remember the girls' shared path. ( )

I found the story and plot line intriguing, but kept getting bogged down in the long tangential descriptions and setting jumps. I really wished for more character development, as I just couldn't find anyone sympathetic to relate to in the book. ( )

http://www.book-blog.com/2009/07/st-j... ( )

The breathtaking, lyrical story of Lilia and those who search for her begins and ends in Montreal, a cold city fiercely guarding its language. Lilia is someone who is constantly vanishing and those who love her are always looking for her. The search has enriched some lives and ruined others. As the book reveals more about Lilia's secrets, the reader is drawn in tighter, wanting, needing to know why she leaves and what she's running from. An interesting take on non-custodial parent abduction, it's impossible to have black and white feelings about Lilia's life.
The characters are rich and memorable, the prose is descriptive and evocative and the story line is captivating. A stunning debut novel. ( )

Gripping and well-crafted, I was constantly surprised by the turns the story kept taking. Kept me guessing right to the end. The gritty underbelly portrayal of Montreal was bang on. Well written and an excellent read. I am looking forward to her next book. ( )

Abducted as a child by her non-custodial father, Lilia, the main character in Last Night in Montreal, has been disappearing for so long that she no longer knows how to stay in one place. Right from the first chapter, in which Lilia slips away quietly from New York and her life with Eli, I knew this was going to be a book I’d want to read slowly, so I could savour every word. In fact, part 1 of the novel, which (like the rest of the book) slips back and forth in time and is told from alternating points of view, reads a bit like linked stories: each chapter can almost be read independently—all the better to savour them. This is my favourite part of the book: mysterious and startling, it drew me into Lilia and Eli’s stories. Mandel’s writing style completely enchanted me.

Part of what drew me to this book is that some of it is set in Montreal, my home for the last 20 years. However, the Montreal Mandel describes is a metaphorical city rather than a real one: a city of frozen dreary streets, unfriendly locals, underground malls and sleazy nightclubs. (It also seemed highly unlikely that a student like Eli would stay for weeks in a hotel as luxurious as the Queen Elizabeth.) Not only did I not recognize my home town in Mandel’s portrayal of Montreal, but this part of the story also dragged: like Eli, I grew a bit tired of waiting for something to happen.

Despite my grumblings about the Montreal sections of this book, Last Night in Montreal is an absorbing read. Mandel masterfully juggles all the strands of her story and I was impressed by how the pieces fell into place at the end. As long as you promise not to judge Montreal by this book, I recommend it!

A slightly different version of this review can be found on my blog, she reads and reads. ( )

Emily St. John Mandel's Last Night in Montreal reads like sketched notes in a private investigator's notebook. With chapters that alternate between the past and present and a variety of characters, readers will feel like they are investigating a child abduction case, while garnering a better understand of human motives and emotions.

"She'd been disappearing for so long that she didn't know how to stay." (Page 9 of the uncorrected proof)

Lilia Albert is abducted by her father, and as they move around the United States in and out of hotels, her sense of home is vanquished. She no longer knows how to stop and settle into a "normal" life. As an adult she continues to move from place to place, carrying with her the only photograph from her past that she has--a Polaroid of her and a waitress. Lilia is a complex character, her emotions deep below the surface, and she meets a variety of people along the way--Eli, an art gallery salesman working on his thesis; Erica, a girl from Chicago with blue hair; and Michaela, an exotic dancer and part-time tightrope walker from Montreal.

"She came out all dressed in black, as she almost always did, and carrying the three pieces of plate that had fallen off the bed the night before; it was a light shade of blue, and sticky with pomegranate juice." (Page 2 of the uncorrected proof)

Mandel peppers each chapter with just enough description and information to keep the pages turning, as readers strive to uncover the moment when Lilia's life changed and why it changed. But this mystery is more than what happens to Lilia, it's about how an obsession can rip apart a private investigator's family, encourage an ex-lover to step outside his comfort zone, and the myriad ways in which humans react to disturbing events from the past.

"Lilia's childhood memories took place mostly in parks and public libraries and motel rooms, and in a seemingly endless series of cars. Mirage: she used to see water in the desert. In the heat of the day it pooled on the highway, and the horizon broke into shards of white. There was a map folded on the dashboard, but it was fading steadily under the barrage of light; Lilia was supposed to be the navigator but entire states were dissolving into pinkish sepia, the lines of highways fading to gray. The names of certain cities were indistinct now along the fold, all the borders were vanishing." (Page 7 of the uncorrected proof)

Readers will itch to reach the resolution of this abduction case, not only to discover why Lilia's father took her from her mother and brother, but also to see Lilia recover many of her earlier memories settled behind the dust kicked up by her continuous travels. The one minor drawback could be the chapters featuring the private detective and his obsessive pursuit of Lilia and her father even when he no longer desires their capture; these chapters dispel some of the suspense built up in previous chapters. However, Eli, Michaela, and Lilia's story lines twist and mingle throughout the novel, and Mandel does well shifting between points of view. Last Night in Montreal is not a typical mystery, but still satisfying. ( )

Lilia awakes one night when she is seven years old and finds her father waiting for her outside in the snow. She walks out of her home and into his arms. What follows is a life of constant travel - moving from place to place with the sensation of being hunted, changing identities, and an inability to create lasting relationships.When Lilia meets Eli, a young man studying dead and dying languages in New York City, she knows she will eventually leave him. But when she does just that, the act puts in motion a series of events which will not only change Lilia’s life, but the lives of those around her.

Last Night In Montreal is a novel which intersects the lives of four flawed characters: Lilia, scarred by events she cannot remember but from which she constantly flees; Eli, stuck in one place and unable to move forward until he becomes obsessed with Lilia; Christopher, the private investigator who gives up everything to find a missing child and uncover the mystery of her disappearance; and Michaela, Christopher’s daughter who is abandoned by her parents and haunted by a girl she only knows through her father’s notes. The mystery surrounding Lilia’s abduction serves as the focal point from which the other characters’ stories revolve. As they are all drawn into Lilia’s life, they are forced to come to terms with their own weaknesses, desires, and fears. Thematically, the story is one about loss, repressed memory, family secrets and identity.

Lilia is a complex character whose life is not her own. She has no recollection of her years before the abduction and seems unable to stop traveling - a compulsion which allows her to see the world and yet not be a part of it.

She moved over the surface of life the way figure skaters move, fast and choreographed, but she never broke through the ice, she never pierced the surface and descended into those awful beautiful waters, she was never submerged and she never learned to swim in those currents, these current: all the shadows and light and splendorous horrors that make up the riptides of life on earth. - from Last Night In Montreal, page 119 -

Last Night in Montreal is Emily St. John Mandel’s first novel, and it is a stunning debut. Told from multiple viewpoints and moving back and forth between the present and past, the book is compulsively readable. Mandel’s writing is flawless - poetic, compelling, and achingly beautiful. Perhaps the strongest aspect of Mandel’s prose is her ability to fully develop her characters - people who are adrift and searching and often in pain, but who attract the reader’s empathy and admiration despite their weaknesses.

Last Night In Montreal is one of those books which once started cannot be laid aside. Disturbing and dark at times, it is a novel which will haunt the reader long after it is completed.

Highly recommended. ( )

"Stop looking for me. I'm not missing; I do not want to be found. I wish to remain vanishing. I don't want to go home. - Lilia"

From the back cover: Last Night in Montreal is a story of love, amnesia, compulsive travel, the depths and limits of family bonds, and the nature of obsession. In this stunning debut, Emily St. John Mandel casts a spell that captures the reader in a gritty, youthful world...

Sounds intriguing doesn't it? I was so excited when I received it. I too have been a compulsive traveller. 23 moves in 12 cities during my 34 years. And I have some holes in my early childhood memories, though not for the same reason as Lilia. I have learned the depths and limits of family bonds; and I have experienced the consequences of obsession. Life is a long hard road and old habits die hard. Sometimes we get trapped between our fear of being alone and our yearning to just disappear. That is the premise behind Last Night in Montreal.

It would be hard to say that I loved the characters because they can be difficult to understand sometimes but I wanted to spend my time with them. I felt their stories were important and worth my time. I hurt for each of them. I sympathized with all of them. They were whole characters because of their brokenness, if that makes sense. I understood that I was helpless to help them; all I could do for them was acknowledge their existence. Poignant for a book full of people trying to disappear.

Clearly I loved this book. Emily St. John Mandel writes well and conveys emotional turmoil brilliantly. I wish for her a long and rewarding career and look forward to discovering what else she has to contribute to the world about the realities of life. ( )

I'm very impressed that this is Emily St. John Mandel's first book. It was totally engrossing. The characters were so well developed and likable. The way the story was sequenced was great and not at all hard to follow. Jumping in time is something that can be very confusing if not done properly. Definitely one of the few books that kept my attention in a long while. ( )

Lilia has been leaving places and people all her life, ever since the age of 7 when her father rescued her (officially, kidnapped) from her mother. Her latest lover and victim of her compulsion to eventually move on, Eli, pursues her to Montreal, where he takes up with Michaela, the daughter of the private detective who has also been pursuing Lilia for years. The story jumps back and forth across the intertwined threads of these characters, until all is finally revealed about the night Lilia's father took her, and the lives of these people finally reunite in a tragic climax. Well-written and compelling, the only quibble I have with the book is that I would have liked to have seen a final meeting between Lilia and Eli at the climax, when his search finally bore fruit. ( )

Last Night in Montreal is a well-written debut that snags you in the beginning and keeps you hooked right to the end. Lilia is abducted by her father at the age of 7 and spends the next 9 years traveling the country as his navigator. When he finally decides to settle down, Lilia keeps on going in pursuit of the missing pieces of her life. She rubs shoulders with many along the way, changing some of them forever. You find yourself cheering her on knowing all the while the other characters you've come to know will be hurt in her pursuit of truth. It is a painful unfolding of lives changed by the choices of others. Just like in real life, some things turn out good, some tragic. ( )

I enjoyed Last Night in Montreal -- a dark, sad story about a girl with a mysterious past. All of the main characters in this story-- Lilia, Eli, Christopher, and Michaela--seem to be chasing something, with little apparently success. I enjoyed Lilia's relationship with her father, despite the fact that she had a far from normal childhood: the abductor is not always the villain. She and her father are on the run for years, escaping Lilia's abusive mother and ultimately escaping the private investigator hired to find Lilia. I found Eli to be wishy-washy and annoying--a rather needy pseudointellectual.
I think the saddest story within the story was that of Christopher (the PI) and his daughter Michaela. His obsession with the missing Lilia lasted her entire adolescence, long after her disappearance became a cold case. In searching for Lilia, however, he abandoned his own daughter, with ultimately tragic consequences. Michaela's story was as pitiful as Lilia's. Although her childhood was certainly not abusive in the same way as Lilia's, the same feelings of abandonment and resentment dog Michaela for her entire life.
I had some difficulties with the passage of time in this story -- it was often difficult to follow as the story switched back and forth between the present day and the past. Other than that, I loved this dark story and eagerly await more from Emily St. John Mandel. ( )

I just finished reading this as an early reviewer and absolutely loved it! It was different than any other book I'd ever read and very interesting. I highly recommend this to anyone. ( )