Splendid ... Sensuous, sympathetic ... At times Paulette’s dogged devotion to a cad like Denton — even at her own expense — may test the reader’s patience ... Throughout de Waal weaves in richly drawn characters — Maggie’s punchy one-liners...bring levity to heart-wrenching events ... Moving.
Her prose sings in moments of quiet humor and heartwarming details, such as when Paulette lapses into Caribbean phrases whenever she’s grumbling about her friends. It’s a story of radical forgiveness, made all the more moving by its unsentimental honesty.