I did enjoy this book--Olsson's second after Astrid and Veronika--but it wasn't as structurally sound. The book starts in New Zealand then goes to Krakow, Poland and finally to an island in Sweden. It was somewhat difficult to follow the geographical jumps earlier in the book. Another challenge was point of view. A female author writing from a male perspective is very difficult. Olsson does do an excellent job. However, in the latter part of the book, Olsson shifts to first person point of view of the primary character's former lover and the mother of his daughter. While her point of view is relevant, it made for a complicated shift. Olsson makes an effective bridge because the book is separated into sections. But, it is a somewhat tenuous one. What I loved about the book was the historical significance and the journeys the main characters take to find identity and peace with their pasts. It is obvious that Olsson worked painstakingly on her research. Personally, I found it interesting that I recently finished reading Silence by Shusaku Endo, and this book's working title was The Consequence of Silence. This made the book all the more relevant to me even though the books do not share similar plots or time periods. Yet, both do show how silence plays a part in our lives. I do recommend reading Sonata for Miriam.