At times, this novel was thoroughly engaging. It focuses on ideals of beauty and art, on time and gender in an original and provoking way. Though ultimately remains too unbelievable to really allow the reader to connect. It treads the line between realism and pure fantasy and this confusion within itself seems to result in an alienation of the reader. At no point was I fully invested in plot or character and this restricts the emotional responses any reader can experience. It was an interesting read and I don’t regret spending my time on it, however it became difficult at times to continue on and if it was not part of my university curriculum then I likely would have given up.