As Michael Chabon says on the cover, this is an "old-fashioned novel." It is slow, it is deep, it invites you to notice nuances in characters that you would never notice in people. It's lovely. But it is not very compelling as there is no driving force--yes, all three characters want to become actors, but that's not enough to move the story forward. It's the kind of book you pick up and put down a lot because it's hard to stay inside. But O'Connor is a brilliant writer and a brilliant professor and I still adore her, so I can't bring myself to give this a rating. But I would say go read her Master's Muse instead.