" This book was a huge disappointment. I absolutely loved Aciman's Call Me By Your Name, so I had high hopes for this one, but I just found it incredibly annoying. I did not like the character of Clara from the very beginning, and I kept thinking I would warm to her once I got to know her better, but it never happened--she was way too pretentious, and I could not fathom her mocking cruelty towards the narrator. I almost stopped reading after the first two nights, but I wanted to stick it out. There is still great beauty in Aciman's writing style, and there were a few passages that took my breath away, but there was not enough story to hold my interest. I made it through the middle of the last chapter when the book became overdue, and I finally decided to turn it in without finishing it. It is very rare that I don't finish a book, especially when I am that close! At least I can say that I gave it the old "college try." "
— Bev, 2/14/2014