I read this when I had broken my leg and I must say I was not that impressed. The ending with him leaving the cherry pie where his wife and daughter could get at it was unmotivated. I don't understand why the character wanted his wife to catch his curse. Also, I had just read "100 Years of Solitude" before this and it made it clear why this is not literature. There was no concentration or density to the writing. It did not look like he broke a sweat to write it. Also, since this was a Richard Bachman book originally, it was trite how he had Backman refer to a "Stephen King" book. This is a book that should have stayed in the drawer. Also, it was apparent that he didn't research much about the Gypsies. The supposed Romany language was actually another language, I read.