The book has great characters you get to know well, like most Irving novels. He also explores some new main themes in skiing and LGBTQ+ issues.

But he repeats a bit too much, annoyingly. And I know of no other author that gets so hung up on his secondary themes. It's like Irving bingo. See if any of these ring a bell: author protagonist, Austria-love, a super short man, hotel fixations, wrestling!, a hint of incest, boarding school... It's got 'em all. Also, make sure you like reading screenplays; there's a few interlaced in the narrative.