This novel felt like a series of religious and coming-of-age vignettes, with some random parables thrown in for good measure, and none of the pieces of the puzzle fit together for me. The narration style felt pretentious and contrived, which made me feel distant from the main character. Ultimately I didn't understand what the novel was trying to achieve, and I couldn't connect with it. Clearly a lot of people feel differently, so I wouldn't rule out trying it again or trying one of her other novels, but this just is not for me at the moment.