Suzanne Joinson’s split narrative novel is the kind of book you will indeed finish even though you will be constantly aware of the pitfalls of this narrative style with every chapter. My, that sounded pretentious, but how hard must it be to keep two narratives going and have them both be equally interesting? How hard can it be to find a modern story to compete with a 1920’s Englishwoman writing a guide for ladies who want to go bicycling for heaven’s sake through a remote Muslim area of western China?

Damn hard.

Joinson’s parallel story takes too long to ramp up. Modern-day Frieda forms an odd bond with a Yemeni man who stays in the flat she inherits from an unknown relative. Of the two women, Frieda is the hardest to connect with. Cyclist Eva makes her trip to Kashgar not only to write her Guide, but to accompany her sister who, aflame with religion, has hooked up with a rather frightening missionary. Frieda is an odd loner who is caught up in an affair with a married man. This relationship, meant to humanize her, is simply inexplicable.

What will keep you reading is wondering how these two stories are ever going to come together, but when they do it is rushed and not entirely believable. Joinson should have the confidence that her story would hold readers for a few more pages to wrap Eva and Frieda’s stories up as they deserve.

I read this novel through Netgalley, and I thank them for the opportunity!