When I started this book, it felt like a typical “award book” – something written for critics. There was no story to speak of, and no development of the characters. The phrases were flowery and inventive, but rarely did they fill me with joy like the ones in Lullabies for Little Criminals; they more felt like attempt to write clever phrases, rather than phrases that happened to be clever. When I complained about the book to my wife, she asked why I was continuing to read it. “Because it’s short,” I replied – if this had been a 500 page book, I’d’ve been out by 75.
Oh, and the “big reveals” at the end? Not surprises.