In the background to this offbeat life, is the shadow of
Mona’s father who has been sick for years with an unspecified illness. He
hovers over Mona’s thoughts and feelings, and is omnipresent when she interacts
with her seven-year-old students and other teachers, especially Mr. Smith, the
new science teacher who is bound to be fired in no time.
This book is spectacular. Despite being only her
second novel, the writing comes across as the work of a master. The literary
flow in this book is so good that you sometimes forget that you are reading a
story and start to imagine that you are peeking into the mind of a peculiar
woman, who comes across as both brilliant and simple, insightful and hopefully naïve.
Without a doubt this is a gem and a delight to read. An excellent work that is
in a class of its own.
5 out of 5 stars
