I spent my Sunday reading this lovely little novel and it was delightful. I didn't realize the mixed reviews it received until just now, when I went to shelve it on my "read" shelf. I suppose you really have to appreciate magical realism to appreciate this novel, as a lot of the criticisms I'm seeing are about characteristics found in most books of the genre, not just The Particular Sadness: confusing, unresolved, "too weird," never really explaining the cause of magical elements, etc. But, I love all of those elements of the genre in general and this book specifically. 
 I read it while baking a strawberry pie and I wonder how much of my love for the book Rose would have been able to taste in my pie.