Must read. Clever as hell but totally satisfying. ( )

From what I understand of marriage, it is the most complex relationship two people can enter. This novel confirms this opinion, in the most dark and confusing way. I didn't quite understand all that was told, but enjoyed the ride anyhow.

This novel presents marriage from the perception of three different men, each who has a unique view of his wife. It was almost like three different novels. The story arcs seem to have a theme, but I can't quite name it. It's dark and scary. ( )

While it's an interesting experiment - a book written like a möbius strip - it ultimately fails because of its poorly written female characters, who seem to lack compassion and understandable motivations, and its confusing and unsatisfying ending. I wanted to love this book, and I love some of it (the Sheperd part of the book in the center is especially powerful), but I can't recommend it to anyone except fans of experimental literary fiction. ( )

This book started out with an interesting and intriguing mystery but halfway through the plot fell apart. I didn't get this book or what story the author was trying tell. ( )

I'm giving this one a three-star rating because I honestly don't know if it should be a five and I'm just not getting it, or it should be a one and I'm giving it too much credit.

This is a seriously messed up ride, but not in a David Lynchian or David Cronenbergian way. It's just that you have multiple stories within stories, often treading over the same themes. You have men who believe the only good relationship measure is by sexual activity. You have women who always know the answer, but only accuse the men of "not getting it" instead of stating the issues. You have a story that jumps all over the place from present day to the early 1950s.

The secret, of course is that the "protagonist"--and the use of quotes is on purpose because there's actually a few of them, but I'll address that in a second--is someone who creates video games and is writing a book about the exact story we are reading, so there's a weird meta thing going on. There's talk of basically resetting lives. There's similar paths that are actually different. And there are many characters who really are game versions of the same person.

So, as I write this, I believe the secret to possibly understanding and enjoying this novel is to come at it as though it's one big video game with video game rules.

But for me? Nah, didn't really work for me. ( )