I never really had an interest in the 1920s or Alaska for that matter. It just wasn't something I thought about and it wasn't a time I would normally read about. And yet this book made me feel what it was like to live then, to understand the weather and even the loneliness of Alaska in that time. Ivey writes with such beauty that she has you wanting to read and you don't know why. There was nothing special, as far as the events that occurred in this book, and yet in and of itself the book was special. There was something serene and calming about it, the way she wrote, and how she made you understand the characters. 
 I only gave it a four instead of five because of the ending. I won't reveal anything. I'll just say that I had that "humph" kind of response. Other than that, and the sudden major usage of one character (that seemed a little forced), it was beautiful. Ivey has a talent for description and character building, that's for sure. An excellent debut novel.