Going into this, I thought it sounded like a maudlin and introspective novel about yet another 'quirky' main character that would not be my jam. HOWEVER, there was something about Khong's descriptive and well paced writing that kept me turning the pages and feeling invested in Ruth and her ailing father as she comes home to help her mother cope with his Alzheimer's. The details were often crazy and lent such realness to the characters, like the way she and her best friend snack on carrot sticks and sugar, or peanuts with ranch dressing!? The crystal clear memories her father shares of her childhood also ring so true: making glass with sand in the microwave or taking the seeds off of bagels to grow in the garden like something my kids might do. She has some lovely turns of phrase: when talking about her ex boyfriend she "...loosened the jar lid, so that somebody else could open him" or remembering when he was building a house of cards, an obvious metaphor for their relationship "...trying not to breathe, not to be the one to knock it down." This was overall, a delightful surprise.
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