It took me forever to read this book. In fact, three-fourths of the way through I gave up because I didn't think I could finish it. For three days I knew the book was watching me. I couldn't find anything else to read, but this book was always on my mind. Finally I yanked it off the shelf and finished it in a couple days. And, boy, am I glad I did. What a beautiful book!

This book was the first I read where the tone was consistent till the end. Heartbreakingly beautiful, it examines the ambiguities of our human existence in the lives and relationships of three individuals whose purpose in life is to be anything but human. There's a movie but it comes nowhere near the perfection of the prose and narration of this book.