[possibly 2+] I think if this had been significantly shorter (better edited and focused) it could have been a much better book. The Paris story line was largely unnecessary until the very last line of the book, which, surely, could have been handled a different way/sooner. I didn't form a strong interest in any of the characters, save Nora, who was incidental (especially if the Paris story line was cut). I could have mustered up more interest in Yale, possibly, had the book been focused on his story line (set in the mid- to late-80s, on the AIDS crisis in Chicago).