A well written but ultimately not terribly absorbing story told by a 50 something misanthrope now self-exiled in America. He spent time in prison for murdering his wife though he was later acquitted, he's estranged from one daughter while the other has committed suicide, and he has at least 2 girlfriends to fuel his sex life. He's unpleasant, all the characters are in their different ways unpleasant. Why should I want to spend a rainy weekend in their company? ( )

The snarky brilliant descriptions of people are great, although the characters are mostly either despicable or pathetic. ( )

This is truly excellent. I'd give it five stars but Notes on a Scandal got that and it's slightly better. This is very very funny though; sometimes because she's just so horribly honest and sometimes, well, just because it is. I don't think I'll be able to look at my belly again without thinking of it as an affectionate haggis. On the technical front, I thought she very cleverly told us what a bad man he is at the start. Then later, when he's just dreadful, you can't help but identify. ( )

I would have liked this much more if I had read it before Zoe Heller's other, better books, [Notes on a Scandal] and [The Believers], both of which I absolutely loved. This is clearly a first novel: there are hints of brilliance, especially in the dialogue, but it never quite gets where it's going, and the pacing in the beginning is so uneven it was a bit of a slog to get through until they arrived in Mexico. Only for die-hard Heller fans. Check out her other work. ( )

hollywood screen writer reassesses his relationships/values while reading the diaries of his youngest daughter, who committed suicide;
not many of the characters are that likeable, and most are stepping through life with their eyes closed, so a bit depressing. ( )