The writing in this book -- sentence level, richness of metaphor and characterizations -- is crazy good. Greek novelist Ionna Karystiani does an admirable job of putting her readers inside her two characters' minds. The problem is that those two minds are very dark places to spend much time. As the novel begins, Viv, a widow, has just picked up her grown son for a 5-day furlough from his prison cell. (This occurrence is presented without comment, leading me to believe that such furloughs are common practice in Greece.) Through flashback, we begin to learn about the events that have brought them to this spot, and why the relations between them are so strained. Stated briefly, the novel is about the ways in which Viv, unhappy since childhood, has unintentionally but indelibly impressed her own despair and fear of life upon her son, and about the consequences of that dynamic. It's not a question of evil, here, and there is a strong and sincere, if difficult, bond between parent and child, and one of the persistent themes is the struggle to attain a level of hope amidst unhappiness. The writing, as I said, is thrilling, and the people come alive. It's just that this is a hard world to spend time in. If that seems even remotely your cup of tea, though, I heartily recommend this book. ( )