This started so great and I'm sad I had to end up forcing myself to finish it. The beginning was poetic and beautiful and the authors words really helped creating the magical realism tone. However, the magical realism never quite meshed well with the brutal and horrifying pieces about slavery and cruelty. It just felt clunky and I think the magical realism should've been in a separate novel and this one could've focused on the historical aspects. Hiram was a wonderful character and it kind of felt wasted here.