This is one of those books I wish I'd read about before I read it. It is undeniably excellently written, and hosts a series of fully fleshed and fascinating (if somewhat repellent) characters. Coming in blind I was unprepared for the structure - each chapter is basically a snapshot of the main character's interaction with other people in her life, and the timeline is very loose if defined at all. That being said, once I got used to the odd ebb and flow of the book, I loved the interplay of the different characters and Anais Nin's vivid descriptions of each.