Wow. This book was definitely quite something — crude and raw and deceptively straightforward, and above all memorably disconcerting. I wouldn't say that the characters were (deliberately) fleshed-out/"round," but they were all incredibly vivid and intriguing. The narrator in particular, of course: while the average reader probably won't have the same background of having joined a cult, s/he will be able to relate to Evie's struggles in finding a place where she felt like she belonged and longing for someone whose affections fluctuate capriciously.

Personally I would've been happy with just the flashback sections, which read like a memoir (in an enjoyable way), but the present-day scenes do help frame the main narrative and put Evie's observations/commentary into the context of hindsight; I thought it was really effective storytelling, though there were some passages that I found to be a bit much (too philosophical or too crude or both) or awkwardly phrased.