I really tried to like this book. I guess I'm not as astute a reader as I like to pretend to be. The stream-of-consciousness montage of the narrator's past was at times compelling. At times the writing was exquisite. But I just got bogged down by the lack of a cohesive plot, and I found the narrator to be a pretty irritating character. I was determined to read until the bitter end to find out what happens to the protagonist only finish the final sentence and have no idea what the heck the ending is about. In fact, I immediately got online to read reviews and summaries of the book to help me figure it out. I'd be ashamed to admit that, except that the authors of every review and summary I read also confessed to having no idea what exactly happened at the end. If anyone out there figures it out, please let me know!