I enjoyed the first 65% of this book and found the writing lyrical, outrageous and funny. My challenge was that I couldn't tell where it was going, and I couldn't tell where we were once it arrived. Maybe Beatty's too clever for me; maybe I didn't pay close enough attention; or maybe I'm a clueless white person and the point went zipping over my oblivious head. Probably some mix of all of them. I'm rounding up one star to account for the "reader error" factor. Beatty clearly has the skills and a wicked sense of humor. I'm curious to learn more about him and see what else he's written.