The atmospheric prose and fairytale recallings—a Hansel-and-Gretel (grownup, non-sibling) couple; the narrator as a sort of Little Red Riding Hood with a wolf at the door (and in the Taiga)—should’ve made this work for me, but as a whole it didn’t.

I was intrigued by ideas in the middle of chapters—there’s lots of space for thought—though I never felt captured from the end of one chapter to the next. And if I hadn’t been captivated by [a:Tara Lynn Masih|2889627|Tara Lynn Masih|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1508879584p2/2889627.jpg]’s story of the Siberian Taiga, “Notes to THE WORLD,” in her collection [b:How We Disappear: Novella & Stories|60531676|How We Disappear Novella & Stories|Tara Lynn Masih|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646236624l/60531676._SY75_.jpg|95396566], I’m not sure I would’ve been able to picture Garza’s Taiga.