Although the ending was bittersweet, I still rate this book pretty high. I thought it was well-written overall. There were some long monologues and I didn't like the way the one chapter was a quoted chapter from a book written by another character about his wife's suicide (NOT a spoiler because the narrator tells you about it at the very beginning). I felt the narrator's character showed real growth throughout the story, though I didn't like where and with whom he ended up.