Beautiful and tragic. When Santiago died, his mother took a small piece of his lung and fed it until it became a creature of its own: Monstrilio. 

I’ve read a few books that have been centered around grief, and this one felt particularly moving. It was gruesome and off-putting at times to see what his parents were willing to do for the little creature; but also, it was so understandable that it almost became common sense to nurture this monster—it is their son.