Folding Paper & Spilling Ink

This book annoyed me so much, and I had such a difficult time placing my thoughts into words, that I haven't written a book review in two months. It just froze my process entirely. And if that's not a review in and of itself I'm not sure what is.

First off, I should say that I read this book right after my mother's death not realizing that the book begins with the main character attending his mother's funeral. Bad timing. That said, I was hesitantly on board for the first half of the book. While I wasn't actively enjoying the story I didn't find it immediately off putting. But everything after his crime on the beach struck a bad nerve with me. Really it was the ending that rankled me the most. The total fatalism made me wonder why I should care if no one in the book could be bothered to. To spend an entire book coming to the conclusion that Nothing Matters just pisses me off.

I understand what the author was doing. I get it. This isn't a lack of understanding or education. It's really just a matter of personal taste and sensibilities. This sort of ending goes on the list with books that end with "and it was all a dream," and nonsense like that. Truth be told, I was so annoyed when I finished the final page I nearly threw the whole thing across the room. Perhaps one day I will be able to pin down exactly why I had such a strong negative reaction, but for now this is as concise as I can be. Not my cup of tea at all.