DNF @ page 213

Stupidly gorgeous writing (despite the prose not matching all that great with the main character) - I highlighted so many lines and phrases. Part I was interesting - we follow an aimless man in the Ukraine who is forced to go back home and take responsibility for a gas station after his brother mysteriously leaves, yet the novel did not feel aimless, it felt relatively well guided by the author. Minus the frankly bizarre interactions the protagonist had with a couple of female characters, I was interested to see where it went.

Part II is where it fell apart for me. The beginning of Part II was absolutely baffling as I had no idea what was going on or how it connected to Part I (I do not know if this a translation issue or not). A bunch of half-baked characters are introduced and the novel itself seemed to lose its way. Such a pity.

I will definitely give this author another go because I loved his prose and this book's plot had real potential.