I don't usually read Literary Fiction, but it was assigned for my Seminar in Fiction class. A book I can honestly say I would not have finished, and probably would not have purchased at all, if it hadn't been assigned. 
 The flashbacks were ridiculously convoluted and served very little real point in the story. I kept waiting for Berie to come back to the present-day timeline and give me something to make me want to read, but it just never happened. Actually, not much happened at all. It's a self-indulgent whine of a woman who thinks she's never been loved enough and left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't like Berie, and don't feel sorry for her. Even the "surprise" regarding her husband seems like something she exaggerates after the fact because she's angry with him for cheating on her. 
 The writing style was nearly impenetrable for me. The description was overwrought with excessive detail given to the most insignificant things. Sentences that ramble on for half a page are common, and just don't work for me at all.