From the book cover: Lower Saint-Lawrence, summer 1988. Looking to escape the violent grip of her uncle and twin brother, Nil heads for Le Bic with a half-tamed fox in tow. There, the tough young woman meets Jacob, an HIV-positive restaurant owner mixed up in illegal saffron trafficking. Meanwhile in India, Amar is about to take part in his first harvest of the red gold while his sister Alaka tries to conceal the embarrassment of her first period.

I finished this a few days ago, and am still struggling with how I feel about it. The characters were tough, not easily likeable people. I don't think they were as fully developed as I would have liked...there are a lot of gaps in their back-stories.

The inclusion of Amar and Alaka's story does nothing to enhance the main story line, or the book overall. I'm not sure why it is there.

But the story kept my interest and I am very intrigued about what is about to happen as the novel ends....

So, a mixed bag. A bit quirky, but interesting enough. ( )