I feel like this is the type of book that I read and think it's one thing and then, like a couple months later, the author comes out in an interview and says it's this HUGE satire or allegory and points out all the subtle meanings of everything and I just feel dumb that I missed everything... Since we haven't gotten to that point yet, I'm going to review it based on my first impressions, and if that turns out to be just the surface, well that'll be embarrassing. Until that, damn, that book was weird. But also I couldn't put it down. First, the pacing was spectacular. What an adventure. Second, every new chapter was filled with something so different that I couldn't help continuing to see what was next. The only part that bogged me down a little bit was the castle building section, but since the character spent that part being broken down too, I respect the symmetry. All the characters, really except Ben himself, seemed a little flat (as in one dimensional, not as in boring), but as we come to find out (as we start to suspect through little clues and discoveries along the way) that Ben's imagination and past are the basis for most of the "bumps" (HA) that he faces on the path, it makes much more sense. Because who creates all their dreams/horrors in 3D? I really enjoyed how through the snippets we get in Ben's dreams of how his life COULD have gone if everything were perfect, we are slowly given a whole picture of where each of the nightmares on his hike were born. I will say though, while it was an amazing journey of discovery, etc. I think there was always some kind of barrier between me and the book. Possibly that was there on purpose, in this kind of novel I wouldn't be surprised, but I am not necessarily a fan of that disconnected feeling, so I'm hesitant to give a full 5 stars... And, as a wife, I gotta say, his determination to return to his family, his choice to go back to them at the end (though his way "around" making the full choice was quite creative) is really heartwarming and a beautiful homage to the author's wife/family. And the very end...it hits you with a huge bang and then leaves you stranded and alone with all your thoughts and realizations and questions. I read the last couple paragraphs at least 4 times trying to sort out my suspicions and I still am not really sure I have a grasp on them. I never saw it coming - gorgeously done.