Oof. I mean, oof. This was such a beautiful, beautiful book in terms of the writing and the imagery - but it also felt like 300 pages of abject misery to get to a silver lining....which is just tough. 
 It's just so hard to review, because I really did love the writing and the way the author weaved the backstory in and out of the main story. I loved the words she chose, I loved how she strung them together, and I love the way it felt in my head. What I really really really didn't like, however, was the actual stories themselves. They were all just so sad. Heartbreak after betrayal after missed opportunity after heartbreak after sadness after misery. 
 I'm not really sure how to recommend this book, or who I would recommend it to - but I do think it's worth recommending. To someone. At some point. 
 (But I can say that it sort of felt like Big Fish meets Chocolat meets Amelie meets sadness?)