Although I read this book straight through, with relatively few interruptions, I've never been more aware of Nabokov's dictum that "one cannot read a book: one can only reread it."

I barely scratched the surface of this novel. The prose expertly balances the natural dissolution of each character's thoughts with effortlessly structured literary devices - weaving metaphor and allusion into the settings and interior life of each character - and Lowry is able to keep all of it just beyond the grasp of everyone involved.

There was so much going on in this novel that it was too hard to navigate without a guide. However, there's no better guide than a first reading and I'm curious to see what I get out of this book the second time around.