An incredible assemblage of characters. A multitude of hints and hidden meanings. It seems to me that the author wants to show off his extensive knowledge of the arts and literature. In that way the book is a quiz about the reader's education, giving him an "aha" moment every time he recognizes one of the characters. And that is just about it - there is no story line to the book. The author is just playing around.

It is beyond me why so many people thinks this book is so inventive and entertaining. To me it is nothing but a literary trick, and the trick is on the reader. The style is precious. The story (or what loose fragments there are) is hard to follow, and the subject is not sufficiently interesting to make it worth the considerable effort Rios demands from the reader.

If you are interested in contemporary Spanish fiction, forget Rios and read Javier Marias who, before long, will surely win -- and deserve -- the Nobel Prize. Julian Rios is a pretender. Javier Marias is the real thing.

Mr. Rios' tour de force performance reminded me of the defunct TV show "The Copy Cats" (subtitled "The Impressionist"). Although I must admit, there were a few heroines/authors I drew blanks on, this did not keep me from enjoying Rios' delightful play on words! If his aim was to dazzle his reader with the broadness of his literary knowledge and wit, he has succeeded superbly ... at least with this reader. I kept wishing my Spanish was good enough so I could read this in the original version, perhaps read both versions in tandem for a double shot of delight!