I always like Yangsze Choo's stories, she has such a good sense of how mythology and history weave together and I realize I don't really have the background to talk about this work through the lens of authenticity, but the world she invites her reader into reminds me of some of my other favorite writers who blend legend and real time.
She's just so deft with it and the way she told so many stories at the same time - this wasn't quite a mystery or a love story or a revenge story, but it held all three gently enough to tell the story of a life.