text: This is a wonderful book that catches the subtle and yet glaring clashes of outlook on country and escape, grounded firmly in love and faithfulness.   It moves quickly;  I was afraid of a tragedy at the end but the resolution is quietly reassuring and poignant.  The grounding love is as much sexual as otherwise but that's understandable in view of the widely different backgrounds of Julie and Abu.  And it is not transient but deepens.   Miriam, Abu's sister, remains with me in her moving quietude, and the litle girl Lela, hand in hand with Julie, plucks deep
  