I haven't started a new book since I finished this one two days ago. If you know me, you know that's not normal for me. I just can't pull myself out of this one. This book is a study in contradictions. It's beautiful and horrific, hopeful and desperate, painful and uplifting. But mostly, it is an intense, sweeping novel that examines what happens when someone is truly, irreparably damaged, but tries to build a life anyway.

I don't know that I've ever read a book where I felt the characters were so richly drawn. I found myself, for the briefest of moments, wanting to ask people if they've heard about what happened to Jude or seen Willem's latest movie, until I realized I was a bit too invested in this book. I also found myself begging and pleading with various characters not to say or do certain things and wishing desperately that life just didn't have to be so hard.

I'm using too many words and still not doing it justice. I think it's enough to say that I'm confident this will go down as one of the top five best books I've ever read.

**Fair warning. This book contains descriptions of some of the worst kinds of things humans can do to each other and themselves. If you don't deal well with that, don't even try to pick this one up.