This book didn't really go anywhere. A troubled man became a more troubled man. But it did paint a wonderfully evocative picture of south Africa in all its beauty and with its dark underside.

Fun holiday read with a dark edge

This ended up bring a marathon effort for me and I very nearly gave up to a couple of times. Not sure why it was such an effort as Doerr writes so well and I usually love a historical novel. The plot just didn't grip me and had too many conceits with the model towns, jules verne, cursed gem and radio broadcasts. My favourite part was the flash forward at the end. I guess I cared enough about the characters to see what happened to them.

Such a fascinating character to focus a book around. Loved how the volume on her was turned up or down depending on the focus of each chapter and how our sympathies for her similarly fluctuate. Will look into the miniseries.