3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from Dome Press in exchange for an honest review.

When Chala was four years old something terrible happened in her family, and she’s lived with the guilt of it for her entire life and allowed it to centre the very core of her being and who she is. When her father figure dies, Chala struggles to cope and eventually goes to Kenya on a volunteering trip to try and find some peace within herself again, and maybe finally forgive herself for her past.

This book is a quite but moving novel that ends up burrowing inside your soul before you know it. I really ended up feeling a connection with Chala and I really felt for her struggles with both her past, and within her marriage to Paul. I thought the setting in Kenya was really interesting, and also proved to be quite educational as I had no idea about the election results a few years ago that ended up in riots and extreme violence against particular castes of people. The author lived in Kenya for some time so is often speaking of her own experience living through such a time and witnessing it a white ‘outsider’ in a way.

One of the gripes I would have with this book is for some reason I kept tripping up over Paul - Chala’s husband, and Philip - Chala’s dad/uncle. I kept thinking Philip was Paul when she was talking about him and I think a name change could have helped there. I think it may have been just the ‘P’ names that got me.

The ending of this was really good, and I particularly enjoyed the epilogue!