Let's get my one complaint out of the way first: the book uses sexual tension as a tool for creating general tension...which is not necessary. Just let the characters all be troubled and skip the part where the two best friends (male) can't stop themselves from fucking each others' wives/lovers. YES, that creates tension in real life, but it wasn't necessary at all to this plot. Everything would have shaken out the way it did if all the awkward fucking never happened.

That's a small point to make, in light of how consuming this short novel is. I can't remember the last time I was disappointed in a character, the way I am with Sachs. I mean, as a person. Auster has me judging Sachs with my real-life human emotions, like I'd judge a friend who won't stop screwing up his/her life. You love them and root for them, but they're on a bad road, and all you can do is wait for the news that they're dead. Sure enough, that's how the book begins.

In all, one of the better "Absurd tragedy, as told to..." novels I've read.