The name Davida Asch recalls both the Biblical battle between David and Goliath and the ash out of which the mythical Phoenix arises, taking flight. Vida Asch's character is compelling and well-drawn. Although defined largely by her politics, Vida "develops" when she becomes sexually involved with Joel, a draft deserter several years her junior. Joel is the second most well-drawn character in this novel; many others appear, although none are as fully fleshed, and most are dimensionless when compared to the unconventional, beautiful, capable Vida.

Judith Walzer says: "Vida is an adventuress, rushing acceptance of her own needs, a present-day Moll Flanders who fervently believes her goals are valid because they are hers. Piercy . . .

is capable of a shrewdness about her protagonist that escapes her in the rest of the novel . . . Vida's energetic uncertainty, when contrasted with the flat, unprofitable political cliches of the rest of the book...