This was one of those books I thought I'd read a few pages of to get a feel for it, then would probably put aside, but finished up reading in a sitting. It's short, only 180-odd pages, and slips past at speed, and but carries real force. Daniel's father, Big Ray dies at the beginning of the book, on or around Daniel's 38th birthday. The event triggers a series of around 500 short reflections, confessions and memories about Daniel's childhood, his parent's life together and apart, and Daniel's journey into adulthood. It's not a happy story. Big Ray was a bad tempered bully and an abusive and violent man, defined by his morbid obesity, and Daniel's thoughts are at times incredibly funny, tender, unsettling and always beautifully expressed. A very unusual and potent novel.