I can completely understand why this has such a low rating, particularly as the story becomes very thorny and difficult as it gets towards the end and the writing can have its moments of grand pretention. But. Whenever I was listening to this, I was intrigued. I kept wanting to read on, to find out what was going to happen. I think it's perhaps a little missold - the bright cover, the blurb focusing on the 'rent-a-stranger' aspect, when I feel there's more of an insular, character-driven aspect that would be a better description. It felt rather cinematic in its execution, despite how small its scope was. Nevertheless, a piece of literary fiction I was pleasantly surprised by.