Well, I'm sorry, but I really didn't like this book. I feel a bit guilty for this, first because it came recommended by people whose tastes I totally trust (sorry Amanda! sorry Kira!), and second because, due to my really shamefully busy life, it took me a ludicrously long time to read this (sorry Steve Toltz). So yeah, I mean, it was my fault—not Steve's—that this book has been hanging menacingly over my head for freaking ages. But let's face it, Steve, it's your fault that your book just wasn't very good.
I'm sorry. I'm sure you're a lovely guy. But do you remember the first goddamn rule of every creative writing class ever? It's show, don't tell. Yeah. What that means, see, is that creating a character who's a "philosopher" doesn't give you the right to detail his meandering and only semi-deep thoughts for pages and pages and pages, nor does it make it okay for you to put twisty, overwritten speeches into his mouth, which also happen to last for pages and pages and pages. I'm really not trying to be a dick here, Steve. My guilt is compounded by the fact that you really do have lots of clever ideas, some of the writing was original and funny, and a handful of the episodes were enjoyable. But your two main characters were really just personality-less. Telling me that Martin is an enigma does not excuse you from making him so. Discussing over and over whether Jasper is a mirror-opposite or a polar-opposite of his father does not mean that you don't need make him interesting. The characters just endlessly whine and carry on and circumspect and angst-ify and fret. And while one could make the argument that that is fun to do, it is really really boring to read about. Unless you're talking about Hamlet, but come on, isn't he like the least interesting character in that whole play?