Don't you sort of have to know this is a satire going into it? Isn't that a necessary part of the reader's responsibility? Because if I'd known the whole thing was a satire I wouldn't have been so confused and concerned about the author's obvious hatred of Seattle. This finally became glaringly obvious to me at some point - perhaps the mudslide? perhaps the description of the 5-street intersections? perhaps the Canadians??
But when you get there... Then it's a rollicking, hysterical mess of a novel, pinballing around from one silly cultural comment to the next and ending up in Antarctica of all places. This author definitely wrote for Arrested Development. You can see the lack of segue from a mile away. Plus, she thanks Mia Farrow, buried in the acknowledgements. Now I need to know why in the worst way.
Besides all that, I did finish the book in a little over 24 hours so it clearly was fun and funny enough to keep me guessing and wondering what the next bizarre plot device will be. I don't understand the need for a reading group guide at the end, though. Is this book actually deep? Did I miss something again?
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