Although Sarah's school life is largely unhappy, a sensitive teacher notices the girl's artistic talent and nudges her on her way toward painting, university, and eventually marriage. At the novel's end, Sarah is alone with the realization that she has alienated all who might have loved her, but remains unrepentant, prepared to start work on another painting. She fully expects the sisters and their families to storm out of the house. She is amazed that the husbands do not come to their spouses' defense. Finally, she realizes that everyone is enjoying the battle.
Events seem cartoonish because of lack of depth.
An even more serious flaw in the book is that while Sarah is supposed to be a great artist, Wilson shows us no sign of her development. Julia van Gorder's historical novel Cyclone , set in Regina, is less ambitious than The Book of Sarah, but more successful. Cyclone opens in 1912 with a tornado touching down in the city, killing 28 people and causing massive destruction of property. One of the buildings destroyed is the YMCA, home to recent bachelor immigrants seeking their fortunes in the golden West. Two of the bachelors, Charles and Louis, become paying boarders at the home of Agnes Jackson, herself an immigrant from Britain.