The novel breaks some ground by making Tash asexual and addressing the problems that this causes her. This would have been more interesting if it had featured more prominently throughout the novel, but it really only rises up in the last thrid of the book. In a similar way, other subplots (like Jack's father's cancer and Tash's relationship with her sister) get rather sketchy treatment and feel like afterthoughts. Many of the subplots are of course riffs on Tolstoy, but readers without the reference point are largely left in the dark and the result is a novel that doesn't stand up well on its own.

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