oh raif :(((

i experienced such a swell of emotion reading this, there were so many lines that i re-read several times. perhaps it is because certain features of raif and maria reminded me of people i personally know and love, but their stories seemed very real and i found myself feeling their sadness and pain too. this book has often been compared to white nights, and as someone who has read both, i would say that this is the one i liked better. so beautiful.