Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Too scattered and sketchy

While I found the premise interesting, I simply couldn't feel emotionally connected with any of the characters in this book. Although they are described in detail they are still too much like caricatures to elicit any sympathy or understanding. Possibly because the author doesn't have the time or space to expand on each character - every chapter is based on a different character in the story - there is no real exploration of their motives and they come across as quite cliched. The setting was a good choice - a pilgrimage through the desert with Muslims making the Hajj, traders and a bridal procession, but not enough was done with it or maybe the cast of characters was just too large. Perhaps if the author had concentrated on two or three characters instead then the story might have been more meaningful and engrossing. The saddlebag itself was not enough to hold all this together for me.