A novel that somehow manages to be both humorous, and depressing. The writing was excellent - poetry almost, or an embroidery of the setting. The characters, not so much. They felt like stock characters that never grew or developed. None of them were particularly likable - indeed they ranged from clueless and naive to downright nauseating. But it's possible that this novel was never intended to be about the characters themselves, but more the setting - a depiction of a particular place and time. And one that was utterly foreign to all of us.