Just thought I'd add to my previous, vague impressions.
When I first started reading, I was a little bit disappointed that it begins in an academic setting. It's not my favorite type of setting for a book that has a reputation for being difficult, while at the same time being recommended as something that will appeal to a wide audience, ivory tower or not.
In terms of plot, here is what I think (ten pages in). Initially it seems like Hal is some kind of jock, a whiz at tennis, but does poorly in school, or at least had a bad year. Goofed off maybe. A privileged kind of guy. It seems like he was coached not to say anything or do anything to screw things up, while the two people sitting next to him would do all the work of explaining away what went on. Maybe someone has a connection in the University that will get him through, "wink, wink." But at the end of that segment, he says "I'm not just jock," something about what he ate, and then it cuts off right around there, leaving me to rethink my initial assumptions a little.
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