what a strange, malicious little novel. I liked it. But it was kind of all over the place and only got more diffuse over time. Also it contains a problematic narrative conceit. All the main characters are damaged somehow; a pedophile, a dangerously angry raging man, a victim of abuse. These characters are all put together in a Lifeboat for our entertainment. It felt lazy and gratuitous on the author's part, although to his credit he at least wrote them reasonably well. Anyway it's a good read in the end but kind of a mess too