The emotional content of this book was great, but I thought that the plot left something to be desired. Now, I understand that although this was a mystery novel, of sorts, it certainly wasn’t going to run in the usual vein. I really enjoyed reading the characters’ insights into their own personal histories, particularly the contrasts between Hatsue and Ishmael. Still, it didn’t go deep enough, for me. The descriptions of the islands weather, flora, and fauna read more like a list of research topics than an augmentation of setting. Nels, Carl Heine and his mother, even Kabuo…they all felt rather superficial in comparison to the attention given to Hatsue and Ishmael.

I was disappointed by the ending, too; it was a tagline, a cheap summation of the undercurrents that pulled at the characters. All in all, it was too predictable; it’s not a book that I would re-read.