Yeah I really hated this book. There were a few illustrations and lines of dialogue that stood out to me so that's why I gave it 1.5 stars rather than one, but otherwise it sucked. The themes of the book are certainly worth exploring but the actual execution felt totally unoriginal and tired. The result felt juvenile to me - manufactured drama and forced trauma told from an emotionally shallow perspective.

There's also a ton of depictions of violence against women. Yes, Will is spiraling in his anxiety and unable to stop imaging all the ways his partner could be in danger. However, the result for the reader is just having to watch her get robbed, brutalized, and murdered a bunch. Depicting violence against women (or any other marginalized / vulnerable populations) is a slippery slope. At what point does it stop being commentary and become a gross indulgence in gender based violence? This, along with Dan being a total asshole to his partner after a stillbirth left a bad taste in my mouth. And it all feels especially gross since the author is a man. 

Also, unhoused people were often perpetrators of violence in Will's fantasies. This was upsetting as it plays into harmful stereotypes about people who are poor and/or experiencing addiction.