The Shadow Land begins as Alexandra's personal journey to honor her brother, missing for the past 12 years and to jump start her own life by teaching in Bulgaria. It morphs into a journey of returning some ashes in a bag that get mixed up with up Alexandra's luggage while helping an elderly couple into a taxi on her arrival in Bulgaria. It ends as a redemption story, detailing the life of the man whose ashes are in need of a proper burial. 
 This book requires the reader to suspend their belief in several instances. Why would a young woman, new to a country she knows little about, abandon her own plans in order to find the owner of these ashes and quickly find a taxi driver willing to make that journey with her, with no ulterior motive? What are the odds that said ashes would contain such an amazing story? And finally, a Dickensian ending which serves to change the course of the political history of the country? 
 What made this book worth reading then? Kostova has a lovely way of writing. Her characters feel authentic and most of them are kind souls, willing to help one another. I also enjoyed the feel of traveling in a foreign country and the history of it, revealed through the narrative. Kostova lived in Bulgaria for a time and her husband is also Bulgarian. She always wanted to write a book about the country, recalling its political history and its labor camps' un-memorialized victims. This is achieved, but it's important to note that most of the towns, camps and individuals mentioned are fictional. 
 The Shadow Land is a book brimming with fondness for a country and its people's enduring spirit. 
 4 stars