DNF @ page 140. 

I'm struggling to articulate why this book is one that I'm giving up on for the foreseeable future. Because the synopsis and macabre narrative style should be right up my alley, and it saddens me that I just can't get into this. 

Part of it I think has to do with the fact that while the writing is both beautifully stunning and darkly sinister, especially with the rather unusual (but lovely) methods Jess Kidd uses to transition between chapters and scenes, it's also the kind of writing that tends to push the plot along entirely too slowly for my taste, and I'm not in the right head space for a slow narrative at the moment. 

Pacing aside, I have also come to the realization that I really struggle with magical realism as a genre. I want to love it, I want to be swept up into it and just immediately believe in everything despite the vague and ambiguous nature of the genre and how it weaves fantasy and reality into a fluid symbiosis, but the pragmatist in me needs defined boundaries to wrap my head around a lot of what is going on. My brain wants to distinguish between the fantasy and reality, and that's not something that you can do with this genre if you want to be able to enjoy it. 

Lastly, I find myself picking this up and putting it down way too often. I like the world and the characters and the writing style, but something is not clicking for me and I never feel an indescribable urge to keep reading for more than 45 minutes at a time. My mind wanders, and I lose interest and it's honestly depressing to think about. 

But don't let that deter you from picking this up if you think you'll enjoy it. 

I just blame my fickle reading muse.