This book was fantastic! I absolutley loved the main character, and the way that McHugh allowed the reader to really understand all of her thoughts and feelings. From childhood to old age, we saw how she grew as a person and battled her demons throughout her life. Rarely have I come accross a character that is so well illustrated throughout a book, that you feel like you know them at the end.
This book tacked a lot of key themes, including gender steriotypes and religion, in a sensitive and compelling way. It was well paced and had just the right amount of beautiful descriptive writting balanced with a plot that kept you engaged until the end.
My only critisism of this book is that it wasn't long enough. I found myself wanting more from nearly every scene, particularly the section of the book which looked at our protagonists relationship with stick woman. I could easily have read another 200 pages and loved every second.
I would highly recommend this book, and would also encourage people to read the authors note. I know very little about the history of the Buddha, and it was enlightening to see how much of the book was based in fact. I will certainly be looking out for more by this author.