Perhaps it was my high expectations, perhaps I was marred by having read [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255648830s/38447.jpg|1119185] earlier this year - I was not wholly impressed by this novel. There are interesting bits, but the unfeeling narration (on purpose, definitely) left me unattached to the events as well. Where [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255648830s/38447.jpg|1119185]'s dystopia left me thinking of my own place in such a world, I hardly thought of what traces of reality were present in Daughters of the North.

To be sure, the journey of Sister from beginning to end is interesting to view upon finishing the book - her evolution (and that of the other women) goes in an unexpected direction. Hall's descriptive writing is at times entrancing in the landscapes, but falls short in showing me the action. Her framing of the novel, as well, leaves much to be desired in the end, though the purpose of such an ending reminds you the focus was the journey itself.