I tore through this one in a single day. I'm not sure there would be any other way. It's impossible to put down, with exactly the right size chapters to keep you wanting to see just what's around the corner--at the next station stop. Cora is the heroine I needed right now, today, this weekend. Unforgiving, unflinching in the judgements she metes out. All too relatable in her heartbroken appraisal of humankind, her self-protective drive towards safety and peace. The closing line is everything: She wondered where he escaped from, how bad it was and how far he traveled before he put it behind him.

Oof. 

I didn't learn about magical realism in college. I guess it was just budding around that time. Now certain novels (and films) make a lot more sense to me. Would that I could go back and take a class on it now. 

Anyone who's ever undergone an arduous emotional journey, ever overcome the setbacks and obstacles along the way, can relive that triumph in reading this novel. That alone is enough to recommend it--and I do. I very much do. It is a powerful and vindicating, edge-of-your-seat adventure with surprises and twists and an ending to absolutely relish.