I really, really wanted to love this after so many have recommended it and of course, due to that Pullitzer Prize Winner sticker on its cover. For personal reasons - as a short story author who likes to overlap plots and characters in my collections - I was also intrigued by the composition of the "novel" which is essentially a collection of short stories about an interwoven set of characters and events.

However, I just didn't get swept up in the book and nor did I lose myself in any of the stories. I therefore found it hard to remember who was who and where they all crossed over thanks to the ever-shifting timeline and the changing, often new, narrators. I think the diverse story-telling styles were just too varied and I never really got a full measure of the two central characters Bennie and Sasha. That said there are some lovely moments and I applaud Egan for introducing so many different viewpoints and narrative styles, and throughout the book - which I did feel I was persevering with at times - there were some really lovely lingering moments and uses of language and prose.

To summarise I wasn't disappointed I bought and read it, just a little unimpressed, but I remain grateful that this book exists!