This is an earlier Patchett book, one I’d never heard of until recently. Such a beautiful read. The characters embody the far ends of character spectrum — extremely quirky on one end and morbidly mid-America-boring on the other. But people are never what they seem. Quirky may have started as someone entirely different, while mid-America-boring may have quite a lot going on beneath the surface. Ann Patchett is a genius at reading people, then creating characters with real, imperfect lives. She is also the master of detail. Particularly emotional detail. The smallest touch, glance, breath, movement expresses the character’s thoughts and emotions without using a word. In Ann Patchett’s literary works, words are almost redundant, limiting. It is the closing of an eye, the twitch of a finger, the holding of a breath that elegantly tells the story.

I like her writing. This one I found confusing, long and very depressing. Finished it but barely. If I could do magic I would have made much of it disappear.

I feel there’s way more to this tale than was told. So many unanswered questions and loose ends. I hope there’s a sequel.