The story was beautifully written and touches on important topics like mental health, parental loss, being a refugee, poverty, etc. I finished it all in one morning (albeit bc my library hold was close to expiring). The storytelling method was interesting, with the two interspersed storytellings in different times, locations and 1st vs 3rd person. However, I found the ending to be quite abrupt, with many gaps on how we got there from where we last saw our MC Michael. Additionally, I could not get past the way Michael perceived and interacted with women throughout the novel, it was often uncomfortable. For example lusting after college aged girl Miranda who was in a relationship while he is fully an adult teacher; aggressively trying to not permit Belle, who he had met at the strip club, to go back to dancing when she needed to pay her rent; being rude to his mother throughout and not allowing her to be happy and move on 20 years after his father’s death.