Does the word 'bleak' exist in Spanish? That's what I found myself thinking while reading this immediately after [b:2666|63032|2666|Roberto Bolaño|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170614502s/63032.jpg|3294830]. The parallels are few, but the contrast in tone is great. Russo's world is one of quiet desperation, with a tension and disappointment resulting from failed lives. Bolaño's has many of the same situations yet a very different form of acceptance... but I digress.

I savored this book. There was much I recognized. Russo's warm voice imbued these sad lives with grace, much the way twilight -- and the shadows it casts -- lets us see our lives in different ways.