Another terrific dialogue novel in the vein of "Nothing", proceeding via numerous short two-person encounters usually over a meal. Six characters total, five of whom become increasingly entangled with each other - but I think it's really about the relationship between Diana and Arthur, who amusingly have more and more sex the more complex their intrigues become. The emphasis on dialogue serves to bring us readers onto the same epistemic level as the characters and makes the point that words are all we ever have to go on... As ever with Green, the characters are dealt more or less an even hand - he strikes me as a wonderfully humble, democratic author. ( )