The book really throws you into the story with no exposition; four voices revolve in sections and not until a good deal into the book do you figure out who they are and how they are related to each other. It didn't deter me, though I can see how it might for others. It calls for active reading, and I always enjoy that. There's also a lot of commentary through these characters on Colombia and its tumultuous history...it's definitely a bit hard to try to explain the novel, but I liked it because it was original and the writing was excellent. I enjoyed the narrative - and kept thinking about how hard it must have been to write four very distinct voices in such a manner. Also, references to Latina culture made me smile throughout.