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This book took FOREVER to read. It's the story of a woman in the last stages of ALS who is, of course, reviewing her life. She's not a nice person. Even her memories show her to be somewhat imperious and incapable of thinking (or caring) about the feelings of other people. Some of the book is told in present tense...what is happening as she lays there; other parts are told in retrospect, and there are some italicized parts that are streams of consciousness. I was frustrated by how slowly the book unfolded, but at the end, I was stunned by its power. I learned and understood things that I'd never "gotten" by reading about the history of South Africa, or by reading the classical literature. It's a metaphorical work as well as a "realistic fiction," one that I value (now that it's finished!)