The premise is interesting—and I imagine may be better than audiobook, depending on how it is presented in text format—but it is really overwritten and some characters that not only become unlikeable, but actually grating. There are others that countermand this but when it swings back to them it really does feel tedious. It’s actually maybe a testament to how well written the parts that work is that I came away thinking it was alright and did not stop reading it entirely.

The narrators themselves are also pretty good. I really do wonder if this is the ideal format for the book, considering the premise. I really like the idea of annotating an existing text, and it could be presented really interestingly, maybe sell the concept better. As is, it’s fine, but I expected more from it considering the accolades of the author and the concept. Pretty sure I got this from a best books of the year list, so maybe my overall expectations were inflated as well.