Helpful Score: 2
This was a very discursive novel, layered with philosophical and cultural commentary on top of the plot. I found the book very slowly going at first. Once you get past the first section it becomes a different book, although it does at times revisit the earlier feel of the novel. Ultimately I liked the book, but I cannot say that I recommend it.
Helpful Score: 1
A tad pedantic in the beginning, and the story turns 180 degrees before it ends where it began. An interesting novel, however.
This is a novel of loss - the loss of children, spouses, friends and lovers over a span of twenty-five years.
This book dragged in the beginning. If you like art, this will be a pleasant book to read because of the detailed attention to various works of art by one of the characters. Toward the end of the first 1/3 it pulls you in and refuses to let go.
Complicated; not an easy read. Many times I thought 'how did the author think of all this with these characters?' Having said that, I stuck with it. It felt meaty and I wanted to know the end.
