the story of Klara Becker, the granddaughter of a master woodcarver . . who inherited his gift for working with wood . . but whose life is punctuated by losses so terrible that neither her art nor her new found love may save her
I tried to get into this book since it is an award winner but I found it just plain boring. I read several chapters before giving up. I only read the first few chapters and moved on to another book.
I loved this beautiful novel. I can't see why others rated it so low unless they are not readers who appreciate a well-written novel that builds and want a 'fast read'. This novel had a surprisingly unique plot, well-developed but deep characters, and moved at the pace perhaps of a stone carver--intentionally. And that made it well worth it. It was a gorgeous read.