Is this a novel about a (possibly) mad woman who leaves her world behind to live alone in the dark woods of the Italian Alps? ... Or is this my future memoir?

Beautiful prose, foreboding, and compelling. ( )

Hmm. Inconsistent. Some strong writing about the natural world, but way too much of it—to the point of overkill. Poor characterization in general: the secondary characters are flat—mere devices to move along a very limited plot, and the “transformation” of the main character, Laura, from shunned wife to mystic who communes with nature does not convince. (She has fled an abusive marriage to a Frenchman and is living in a cabin in the forest near an Italian mountain village.) Sometimes she seems mad. Other times I wondered if she had temporal lobe epilepsy. A few of her experiences sound quite psychedelic. When she visits the village for the final time, she just seems dotty and deluded. The villagers (predictably) think she’s a witch. I had no idea when any of this was supposed to be occurring. Post WWI, post WWII? (A soldier, who may have deserted or turned pacifist, previously lived in the cabin she rents.) The Victorian era? Well, there’s a lot of laudanum! The goal seems to have been to produce a visionary/literary novel of great depth and beauty. It’s my perception that the goal was not achieved.
Overall, I lack the enthusiasm to say any more about it. ( )