Reminiscent of Anna Karenina, the author provides a rare first-person glimpse into the heart of a young woman as she confronts chauvinism, ignorance, and other obstacles in her search for love and acceptance on the rugged steppe of Central Asia. Equally rugged stands the culture and landscape of Kazakhstan, a beautiful and fully developed character in its own right, which the heroine must contend with over the better part of a century.
