That was an emotional roller coaster of a coming of age story. And an incredible exploration of a life that would normally be, as so aptly stated by the title, invisible. When we start the story, I van has seriously never been outside the hospital he lives in - a life full of boredom, repetition, and daily reminders that life isn't fair at all. Until Polina comes and they are able to find in each other a way to forget the daily fear and disassociation from real life that they both live with. Ivan helps Polina forget that she is dying and makes sure she doesn't die alone. In Polina, Ivan finds out about himself, his past, and tries so many new things that he would easily have been able to talk himself out of before her arrival. Her influence gives him the courage to feel, to love, and ultimately to be able to say goodbye (to her and to the safety of familiarity) and to leave and spend the last few years of his life actually living. I also think, though partially in the background here, Nurse Natalya's story is just as sad if not more so, as we see her lose her husband and chance at a family, then watch her fight back and put all her motherly love into the children at Mazyr, only to continue to move through life as she buries them one by one. As she says, it is always more lonely for those left behind than those who leave... This glimpse into the lives of those who would truly otherwise be invisible hits right in the soft spots. A heartbreaking tale of the price paid by the innocent in times of war and greed. And a beautiful story shining a light on the fullness of every single human life, no matter how small it may seem.