C itibaren Kumarchak, West Bengal 733132, India itibaren Kumarchak, West Bengal 733132, India

Slow at the start but worth sticking with it for the big twist ending. Really a meditation on different kinds of love -- friends, colleagues, teachers, children, lovers. The book picks up when the main character, Marina, makes it to the Amazon jungle to learn more about her former mentor's research into a fertility drug made from the bark of yellow trees named martins. Marina, who at the start seemed so passive to me I wanted to shake her, finds herself on a completely unexpected path and by the end of the book you know her experiences in the jungle have changed her life forever. The author has excellent observation and elegant writing skills.