Yifan Shi Shi من عند 40340 Aguilafuente, Segovia, إسبانيا من عند 40340 Aguilafuente, Segovia, إسبانيا

A story that many felt needed to be told to the world because it is true. This was a story of a life and culture that I know very little about. The first part of this book was about all the lavishness and opulence of a palace and kingdom and a privileged life. The second half of this book told about when all those privileges were taken away and a family is left fatherless and without the allies and comforts of their past. The severe circumstances the family had to endure and the way they supported each other and contrived a plot to escape was intriguing. However, the storytelling left a great deal to be desired. It began to be boring and drawn out. By the end I felt I had been in the desert for 20 years which gave me little sympathy for the family.

I had a hard time finishing this one ...not because it wasn't good, but because it was exhausting to read - both the style and the themes were draining. It is graphic - at times horrifyingly so. As a reader, you witness society and humanity crumbling after a plague of blindness hits everyone (save one woman who leads a band of people through the city). I did finish it. And the longer I thought about it, the more I liked it.