This book set in Trinidad resonated deeply within me. I could relate to the emotional tension of the protagonist as she and her husband lived as privileged expats in a developing nation. The protagonist felt outrage towards the corruption and inequality around her, profound compassion for people suffering, a simultaneous aversion and affinity for an unknown culture, and an undeniable apartness and inescapable guilt rooted in racial and economic chasms. This book was short-listed for the Orange Prize, and I see why. It was one of the most engaging books I have read in some time.