Hard to brief about this book. At times I found its seriousness captivating and could get really lost in it. Despite how hard I found it to relate to a protagonist with *quite* that degree of self possession (I preferred the company of the more partials failure friend). It was mostly humourless, apart from some rather arch passages about New Zealand in the closing chapters. I liked it a lot but I have to read something vulgar and raucous next to get rid of the good taste in my mouth.