I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. To me, it didn't live up to the blurb in any real sense. I was expecting to see more of a connection of how these women relate to their world post the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it was only ever skimmed over, mostly in Jarinde's chapter. I wonder whether there is a cultural gap as someone who did not grow up in Germany (or Europe) and live through the oppression of the Cold War, but then I think that a good book should be able to take its readers to these places and feel what it might have been like. If the blurb hadn't mentioned the cold war, it probably would have been fine and my expectations somewhat met.

The structure was also interesting in that it felt more like a collection of short stories rather than a novel. While the characters were loosely connected, their core stories did not overlap a lot, and though it purports to be structured in five acts, there really was no beginning, middle or end.

It was easy to read and I would consider picking up something else from this author, but overall my expectations were not met.