I was pleasantly surprised by this acid trip of a fairy tale.

Shockingly, for all of the chaos that ensues, no one is truly villainized. That is not to say that the characters do not act selfishly, irrationally, or badly--they all do one of these things at some point. But as love and compassion remain the themes of the narrative, these values also serve as the lens through which characters are portrayed.

The dream-like nature of the prose, coupled with a lack of character self-reflection, does make this a textbook case of style over substance. I enjoyed the journey, and felt invested in the characters, but the borderline saccharine conclusion did feel somewhat hollow.

That being said, this read will take you no more than an hour, give or take. You have nothing to lose picking it up at the library and deciding for yourself.