The premise of this novel was interesting: two women, one ancient, one modern, whose stories come together when the modern woman is asked to study the bones of the ancient. The narrative moves back and forth between them, mostly parallel, as the author details the daily concerns and struggles both face. However, neither woman is very interesting, and their characters are flat and dull, which makes for some stultifying reading. In addition, the modern woman, who is primarily occupied by her sex life and potential partners, comes off as unprofessional and far more interested in the dynamics of her relationship with a co-worker and former lovers than anything else. While it's undoubtedly fascinating to her, for readers it's a lot of repetitive navel-gazing.

The ancient woman gives birth alone, must fight and kill a bear, and searches for a sustainable life. Her trek is only mildly more interesting that that of the modern woman, and the writing about both is riddled with cliches and stereotyping. Finally, the author apparently felt the need to educate her readers, which she attempts to do through a series of incredibly asinine and pedantic letters the modern woman writes to Charles Dickens in a one-sided conversation.