Funny, sad, strange and thoughtful book. The two-narrative structure, past and present, worked well and I loved the narrator's voice, the historical details, insights and opinions, and all the side characters. I expect I'll re-read this one.

Here are a few of the passages I highlighted:

One would soon go mad if one took such coincidences too seriously. One might be led to suspect that there were all sorts of things going on in the Universe which he or she did not thoroughly understand.

---

“After all that men have done to the women and children and every other defenseless thing on this planet, it is time that not just every painting, but every piece of music, every statue, every play, every poem and book a man creates, should say only this: ‘We are much too horrible for this nice place. We give up. We quit. The end!’”

---

Fiasco in which a person causes total destruction of own work and reputation through stupidity, carelessness or both.