Without a doubt, this book will stay with me for a long, long time.

It's the only book I can remember reading where it isn't the characters, the plot, or the setting that really matter. What matters - what resonates - are the words. The language - its idiosyncrasies, its surprises - is what makes this book an all-time favorite for me.

Equal parts tragic and uplifting, it makes you believe in the best of humanity even as you things fall apart around the book's main characters.

Utterly brilliant.