This one starts off being a satyrical banger. Over-the-top tragedy, comedy, story, characters. I can easily see this being an expression of a brilliant man looking at contemporary fiction and thinking "I can do better than this". Then actually proving that he can.

The wonderful thing is, that, it's not just good satire, it's also a decent book by itself, that holds up really well.

My only problem with it is the style. Maybe it's the translation, but it feels very dull, maybe blunt is a better word. There is not much inner life going on, it's just point A, point B, few lines of dialogue, repeat. Maybe this is part of the satire, but I haven't read enough books from that time to really be able to tell.

Overall an enjoyable read, but not one I will think about in 3 years.