I read this entire novel in two hours by the pool, so my sun-inspired happiness was probably the reason I have given it two full stars instead of one. I like epistolary novels so the e-mails didn't bother me. What did bother me was the insipid two main characters whose story had no driving force whatsoever to make me care about the outcome (the pool thing contributed to my finishing it, as I had already finished the other book I was reading at the pool and didn't want to go home yet). What bothered me even more than that was that a solid third of the book was e-mails sent to and from characters who had little or no screen time with the main characters, and whose e-mails served only to expand the page count from an overall boring, plodding story. I did like the theme of loneliness being a common denominator in all people, but it was a little heavy handed in its execution.