That summer in Paris

I finished this book in one day and three evenings. The reviews for it in Amazon are good. I dont know if its my harsh third world point of observation, thats making it seem shallow and superficial. Sometimes a lot of my lifestyle in Boston seems superficial when viewed from here, but was not back there. I am intrigued by the amorality of the characters. Is this again my traditional upbringing ? Literary value aside, this writer is challenging my rules about what is moral and immoral, and I must evolve.

This book is about an old writer, whose past is a wasteland of multiple relationships and casual encounters that went nowhere, who finds love one last time.
Like its protagonist's life, much of the books pages are wasted on detailing the lives of a set of superficial characters that contribute little to its intensity. An aspiring writer Maya meets the celebrated Prem Rustum,a Nobel prize winner, on an internet dating site. He pursues her to
Paris where she is supposed to spend the summer on a writing fellowship. She's not getting much writing done- most of her time is spent obsessing about Prem and in banal Sex and the City like talk with her apartment neighbour. Prem divides his time between Maya and a great writer friend Pascal,a stereotype who conversations show no signs of greatness. The characters are all blessed with an acute sense of amorality,self indulgency and a keen ability for transient sexual encounters. After all they are great writers,aren't they ?

The book is filled with literary and artistic references in the middle which makes it feel like downloading a large file from the internet on a slow modem connection. While the author's initial attempts to adorn the characters feels like throwing color on the canvas and hoping some will stick, in its dying moments the novel picks up its threads to reach a passing grade. Somehow Prem Rustum comes across more real in death than when he was alive. To the author's credit, another technique that does work is the slow blending in of flashbacks. Its the lack of real feeling and depth that keeps this from getting a better grade. 2 and 1/2