" My feelings about this book are as deeply mixed as its reviews. On the one hand, the characters and setting are fascinating, and the story is engaging and compelling. On the other hand, reading this book is a slog! It is over-long and the prose is bombastic. I'm willing to put up with all this for a genuine, OMG-this-is-a-masterpiece, but TLoB doesn't qualify. Structurally, the lost manuscript wheeze doesn't add to the book and the endnotes, while occasionally interesting, were mostly a time sink and felt like an indulgence on Carr's part. Carr says he spent all of his adult lifetime writing this book -- I expect better from the author of the Alienist. "
— Paul, 2/18/2014