Wouldn't have taken a second look at this book from the cover but I read the blurb and was pleasantly intrigued. So I thought i'd read on to the first couple of chapters and it's quite well written. I am curious about the baby who doesn't sleep, Kizim, I don't get that yet, hopefully it's just a weird way of allowing the mother to tell her story. The author sets an atmosphere of adventure and hopefully the novel will continue in this vain.