“There are moments in life so monumental and still that the memory can never be retrieved without a catch to the throat or an interruption to the beat of the heart. Can never be retrieved without the rumbling disquiet of how close that moment came to not having happened at all.”
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As with most books that I really adore, it’s difficult to articulate why. I will say that it took me about a hundred pages to really gel with the story, and then I became absolutely obsessed with this cast of misfit characters: a chosen family that includes trees that ‘talk’ and a parrot named Claude that, on the rare occasion, adds his two cents to the conversation (not mimicry). The tone is juuuuust whimsical enough, not overly so, with that touch of magical realism.
The real engine that propels this novel forward is the absolutely heartfelt and witty interactions between these unforgettable people that made me teary, laugh out loud, and gasp with delight. This book gave me MAJOR Gentleman in Moscow and The Hearts Invisible Furies vibes (two of my all time favorites) with such singular characters, wonderfully threaded missed connections, twists of fate, and satisfying conclusions.
Don’t sleep on this one! Like I apparently slept on her previous book, Tin Man, years ago - rectifying that ASAP.