This is perhaps the best book to read when you are just shy of your 50th birthday and your life is a bit of a mess. It is extraordinarily deft, full of dry wit and self-deprecating humor. It is light and warm and unexpectedly profound and wise. I felt a deep sympathy for Arthur Less, and was so invested in the outcome that I actually cried at the end of this funny, funny book. It has not quite spoiled me for other reading, but I will remember how wonderful it was for a very long time.