The first chapter is a swirly, polished marble of a story. The others more than ably carry through the interesting idea about how we use space (real or imagined) to deal with grief and loss ( real or imagined). Leicther is a very skilled writer. Her sentences sing. She uses microdoses of magical realism to great effect. At the end of chapter 1 you learn that the story you have been following is not THE story. Almost Great.