I could not get into this novel at all. It bored me from the start. Usually I have no interest in historical novels that feature characters well-known to history, in this case: Susan Anthony, Anthony Comstock, Elizabeth Stanton, and Victoria Woodhull. The reason for that is that authors typically write really badly when dealing with real people from history: demeaning or belittling them, re-forming them in their own image, puffing them up ridiculously, or rendering them as caricatures; in general, not having any idea how to represent them realistically.
Unfortunately I overlooked my misgivings about that in this case, and sure enough, it wasn't long before I realized what a mistake that was. This story is of a woman named Freydeh Levin who is working to earn enough money to bring her family over to the USA. Somehow she didn't know her younger sister was in the city and when she tries to find her, she realizes she's actually missing. Freydeh starts looking for her, which takes her along a sad trail of cheap living, brothels, and prisons. That's hardly inspiring.
This could have been a really interesting story, but it dragged, and I never did like any of the characters. I tried several times to get going on it, but whenever I put it down, I felt no compulsion to pick it up again, so after it sat for a while and I realized I really had zero interest in pursuing it, I ditched it for something more interesting. Life is too short to waste on books that simply don't do it for you. I can't commend this one, based on what I read of it, which admittedly wasn't much.
