To be honest this is where I start to dislike the novel, because it feels like Ellis is trying to wrap up loose ends. When Shauzia enters the picture in chapter 26, it just seems too unlikely and convenient. Mrs Weera becomes like a puppet necessary to complete the deus ex machina ending. Parvana’s rescue at the end of the novel seems a little too contrived for me to really be content with it. In a novel that has been gripping because of its realism, the ending (although not fully resolved) seems a little to saccharine to me. Is this just because I am a jaded adult who cannot appreciate the neat and tidy happy ending at the end of a book written for children? Yes, most likely this is the case. My sense of probability and likelihood prevent me from enjoying an unexpected and improbable ending.