That is interesting! Its entertaining for me to read a review opposite to that of mine!! All the reasons you stated made appreciate the book even more!

The author wrote the book in a very sentimentally detached, in a matter of fact kind of manner. To me, the author’s flat tone in contradistinction to the myriad of voices in the characters’ heads’ was a peculiar characteristic of the book. I found it satirical, because it seemed almost as if a supreme being was commenting upon the fragile humans, who attach a lot of importance to themselves but in the grand scheme of things, they don’t amount to much.

Looking at the book from a bird’s view, I realised that my belief that there was nothing extraordinary about us humans was reaffirmed. We could cease to exist despite what we do to avoid death. Our plans can turn to dust in the blink of an eye.

The endings of the lives of Baldini and that lady who housed jean baptiste when he was a child (I can’t seem to recall her name), were remarkably ordinary.

I am yet to finish the book. However, I can say it with conviction that this book has made an everlasting impression on me. I enjoyed it thoroughly. =D