Hardly is one character or situation introduced until the author skips to another. Even given the brief attention span of a reader of modern fiction, the lack of continuity, excessive use of jump-cuts, and economy of presentation leave the reader searching in vain for the central theme. Still, the basic rawness of its poetic passages has a visceral attraction and a primitive strength. I anxiously await its rendering in the media of film, to see how the director will tie together the diverse range of metaphorical, even alegorical, passages into a cohesive whole.