The story is set primarily in New York and centres on one character in particular. 

I feel very torn with this book. It was beautifully written but painfully slow. I felt like it gave incredible insight into the repercussions on someone’s adult life following abuse as a child. It made for very difficult reading at times. I really felt for the main character, but he was quite narcissistic, so I’m struggling to understand how he got and kept so many loyal friends!! 

I found the sections on self harm incredibly, disturbingly well-written; Jude’s thought processes and urges to self-harm were so insightful. 

Jude and Willem’s characters were well-developed.  Poor Malcolm only got a look-in when he was useful as a plot vehicle and as a conduit between JB and the other two. He didn’t seem vital to the friendship group a lot of the time. 

There are so many trigger warnings with this book! Buyer beware!  You need to be in a good place mentally to cope with this book.