Let me start by saying that I love the cover. It's what drew me to the book in the first place, and I had high hopes for this book that is described as 'absurdist (true), moving (didn't get there), and savagely funny (were we reading the same book?)

The story revolves around Melvin Levin, a middle-aged man living a dull and uneventful life, until he receives a mysterious death threat in the mail. It shocks him a bit at first, but gradually, he almost starts enjoying the fact that he is 'under threat of death' (a phrase that is quite possibly repeated throughout the book about 137 times or thereabouts-just a wild guess).

He turns into a bit of a d*ck actually, because he now sees himself as superior and above everyone else because his life is being threatened, while the others around him are so inconsequential that nobody would even bother sending them a death threat-they're simply not that important.

I suppose I can see what the author was trying to accomplish. But try and imagine J. Alfred Prufrock trying to portray one of the old endearing characters from a Fredrik Backman novel, but this whole story being written by Salman Rushdie. I disliked the end result SO MUCH.

There were WALLS of text, with a smattering of dialogue just to break it up now and again. It was just a meandering stream of consciousness that sparkled with self-indulgent pomposity of language, using too many words to say precious little. Case in point-there are TWO PAGES of text dedicated to the act of checking his coat in at a restaurant. Sorry, but life's too short for this.

Oh, and did I already mention that I came across the term 'under threat of death' enough times in the 33% of the book that I did read, to make me want to fling the book across the room (except that I couldn't because I was reading it on my Kindle)? Arrrrgh!!!!

There are a lot of heavyweights singing paeans of (advance)praise for this book, and it boggles the mind to think about the possibilities that could have brought that about. Is it possible that THEY ACTUALLY READ and LIKED the book???? It seems inconceivable.

This is all just to say that I would never subject myself (or anyone else) to this book, except as a sleep-aid, or a test of mental endurance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Turner Publishing Company/ Keylight Books for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

This was not my usual book, I like more thriller and not as much humor involved. This was such a delight. I liked the humor and the drama overall.

This plot felt really different to the usual books I read so I wanted to give it a try. And it had more immersed quicker than I thought.