Once I got started reading this (it took me a while – I had a book bottleneck), I couldn’t put it down. It was doubly great b/c I started it on the plane ride to New Orleans and read about half the book while I was there. The story is set in New Orleans, so I could relate to the many great references to the culture, society, and urban landscape (or decay, depending on how you view the French Quarter). Ignatious is one of the greatest characters I’ve ever met. What an ass! You hate him and are repulsed by him. And yet…you can’t stop reading. It’s like a train wreck or a a vulgar picture, you know it’s awful, but you have to watch it just a little bit longer. What a great book! This is the first Pulitzer Prize winning novel I’ve been able to finish and actually claim to like. Give it a read.