This is a gut level adventure into Balkan life and music, not by a tourist! I found it a little difficult at first to find it's rythm, but once I did it took off like the rythms that this book is about. To American ears this music could seem odd, but having been exposed to it in my youth I find it invigorating! 7/8, 9/8, 11/8 timing you won't hear on AM radio. Mr. Cartwright has tapped into it and it flows well in his book. Several of the musicians are on YouTube and listening and watching them really made the book pop and come alive. It is funky, real, and might open a door for you into something completely different! Just what I needed!