Let me attempt, here, to put my finger on what makes this book special. The language is lyrical. That's a start. I don't need a hard-hitting plot if I get caught up in the language. The author also does something funny with memory. You may not like this, but it's difficult to tell what actually occurs in the protagonist's life because her childhood memories are skewed, and she invents memories where there are none, or where her memories are confused.