 He also found his second novel to be more "ambitious" than the first due to its larger number of characters, its dual focus on Mariam and Laila, and its covering of a multi-generational-period of nearly forty-five-years.However, he stated, "As I began to write, as the story picked up the pace and I found myself immersed in the world of Mariam and Laila, these apprehensions vanished on their own.The developing story captured me and enabled me to tune out the background noise and get on with the business of inhabiting the world I was creating."