And today, gray day, I'm back to this one. I either need an entire box of tissues, coffee or wine. I don't know which.

In books I love most, nothing ever happens. And, that is true of Lila. Of course: Lila's cruel and arduous past is explained but the book is really a contemplation on loneliness and whether it might exist with happiness. The prose is graceful and intense, might require breaks, but is worth it.

I have read this book so slowly. I don't want to let Lila go, even though she breaks my heart a million ways. Her Loneliness in the world is just as shattering as it is profound.

At the top of my second-hand finds pile (and misfiled) is the only "new" book I've bought all year. And, it's up next!