It’s really hard when people recommend books that just don’t grab you in the same way it did for them.
I respect the concept; a grand narrative made up of stories interrupted by a successor and then continued, in reverse order. This structure is plainly laid out in one of the stories, dressed up as a description for a musical sextet.
The problem was I lost the thread in the middle stories. I was able to pick it up again and appreciate some final parts, but it just wasn’t the gut-punch that I had expected from the recommendation.
X