The Great Divide was a wonderfully written novel about the building of the Panama Canal and how that impacted the people of Panama. I learned so much from this book and it was a really thorough and engaging look at how colonialism impacted this area and people. 

As for the story, I felt the connection to the characters was uneven throughout the novel. At first I felt bored and unconnected, then towards the middle I felt so close and concerned for the characters, and then I felt disconnected and removed from the characters again. I think perhaps it was an uneven balance of character emotionality and development with factual storytelling about the canal, but I'm not sure. 

I'm glad I read this, but I hoped to feel more rooted to the characters throughout.