This is quite a clever novel. From the constant wordplay (USIC... ummm, "M"-less music) to the allusory narrative constructions (Peter's Jesus arc, Bea's parallels to Dante's Beatrice in the Inferno, etc) Faber's story plays with and against the reader's expectations in order to bring about his overarching theme: interactions change everyone involved.

Faber is so good at writing about vulnerability, either physical or emotional, and it is a source of the tension he builds to keep this novel moving. In fact, the fragility of the human body is one of the more powerful ideas flowing under the surface of the novel.

I just finished the novel and I haven't spoken to anyone about it so I'm still processing what I read. I can say this is the kind of book that gives you a lot to talk about afterwards. It is also the kind of book, which invites that kind of discussion and I think Faber has made something that will last longer than a Hardcover run.

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes reading, but particularly for anyone in a book club.