There is something that comes off as
strange to me about this book. Everything is told in an exceptionally brisk
manner. I feel like I am taking a crash course on Tony Webster’s life, yet he
continues to tell me that none of this is part of the story he is planning on
telling us. What? In less than a paragraph in each case, he details that he and
Veronica broke up, that he had a random “friends with benefits” fling with a
girl named Annie while he was overseas and not contactable, he got married and
had a daughter named Susie. His wife ran off with another guy, who ended up
dumping her for a younger girl. Oh, and the now called Susan got married. Again
I say: What? This all happened in the blink of an eye, yet it is understood
that time has jumped at least 30 years.
Now to the central focus of Part
One: the culmination and eventual death of Adrian. In the time leading up to
his death, Adrian sent a strange letter to Tony asking his permission to date
Veronica. First of all, when did they meet? Second, that is a low blow by
Adrian. No need to date a friend’s ex- even if you have permission. Aside from
the relationship, which I am not a fan of, Adrian was “happy” in the time just
before he cut his wrists, according to Alex. Either that was all an act, or something
underlying was bothering him. If he was truly as intellectually gifted as
described, it really was “a fucking waste” to see him kill himself. Tony did a shockingly
good job removing himself from the situation and not getting too emotional. To
be honest, at the end of my reading, I am more confused and less content with
the book. I don’t see the point of it so far.
Ryan Pearson
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