I'm not sure what to rate this, since I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's pretty hard to put down, which is kind of mystifying, because it's pretty awful. I'm at chapter fifteen and unlikely to finish it, as my recreational reading time is about to vanish into the ether.

The book doesn't hurt for entertainment value: it's fun, funny in parts, and full of heart. There are points where it reads like a kinder, jauntier Bukowski. But, my God, the characters! There's not a one that isn't profoundly irritating (which I guess means that they're well-characterized, since I feel like my skin is crawling in response to real people). I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Sociopathy does not equal fun, lighthearted rebellion, people. There are enough people in real life who are as self-serving and acquisitive as those they purportedly rail against but frame their dishonest, manipulative behavior (that usually ends up sticking it to innocent people and not The Man) under the auspices of railing against the system. I don’t need to read about fictional ones (not charming at any age, but particularly not here, since by all indications these characters are old enough to know better). And, gah, if Clyde calls Walter "Sunshine" one more time, this book is seriously going out the window, even if it does belong to the library.

Compounding matters is the fact that Walter (a follower's follower) narrates the story in such a fashion that every other sentence is a breathless epiphany to the effect of, "Before I met the Charming Sociopaths With Hearts of Gold, my life was as dry and forlorn as the parched shards of over-toasted toast, but now every day is ooey-gooey and delectably delicious, like maple syrup domineering the catacombs of a Belgian waffle," and "Looking back on the changeability of my changing life, I see now that what happened then is that I was changeably changing, and it's all because of these Changeable Changelings Who Taught Me How To Truly Live."

That gets old fast.

To bring it on home! I don't regret picking this up, and I might even make it all the way through. For all its faults, it's an undeniably fast, fun read (or train wreck). I think that at some point I'll end up revisiting this author--I suspect that I might have just chosen the wrong book (of his many) by way of an introduction.