Though the book could have used a bit more attention in the editing department (there were some repetitive passages, some unnecessary detail, and some garbled sentences, at least in the e-book version) it kept me glued to the pages. Rubio does too much biographical speculating for my taste -- I hate it when biographers keep saying people "must have" felt or thought something! -- but there is a compelling story to be told through the actual facts, as well as the intriguing, frustrating holes in those facts.

LMM's story is an utter tragedy in the end, and yet out of this sad, lost life we have a legacy of books that still have the power to uplift and comfort so many. One of those literary riddles that has no answer.