I had a fair amount of prejudice going into this book. I read it because it was shortlisted for the Tournament of Books, and nothing about the author's THE ENGLISH PATIENT pedigree (never read it, but saw the movie) or the book's post-WWII England setting really drew me in. And then, the plot didn't either.

It felt like I was plodding alongside the protagonist as he detailed the mysteries of his youth, often just re-telling stories that were told to him (I think, an exercise in how people remember things a little differently from each other). To be sure, there's a mystery at hand, but I wished to have followed the mother's character rather than Nathaniel. There were a couple of moments of intensity and action, and the writing is gorgeous. Sometimes great writing can overcome a middling interest in the events of a story, but alas.

The story wraps up okay, with most ties coming to a close, but it left me feeling not much at all. Especially as Nathaniel learns a great deal, and then kind of just, tells the reader and goes on with his life. I wanted more of an arc for the guy who was telling me about his life. And by the end, I'd wished we'd seen this story from any other character's perspective.