P is for The Passenger: Lisa Lutz

What a page-turner! I was hooked by page one. And I stayed hooked the entire read. Each chapter presented one more layer of murk, one more shocking surprise, one more question that needed to be answered, and I couldn't put this down. I'm glad I had a two-hour plane ride with nothing else to do but read this book. 

I really appreciated the break-down of the book: each part split up by name. This made it very hard to stop (or impossible because I never actually stopped?) because when the part ended, I had to know what happened with her next identity. 

I like Nora. I think she was a very good character, with a lot of depth, a lot of pain, and a lot of life. That makes it easy to read and enjoy reading. From the very beginning I was on her side. Maybe that's because she's the main character and narrator, but I also think Lutz did a very good job making her readers instantly fall onto Nora's side. Each time an identity falls apart, my heart breaks a little bit more for Nora because it's so easy to see that all she wants to be is Nora. Just Nora. 

I also liked the email correspondence throughout each part. That helped provide some background while also leaving me clueless with so many more questions, adding to the intrigue. 

Even with the book finished, I'm not sure how I feel about Blue. She's a strong woman, to be sure, but almost the complete opposite of Nora's strong, and when those two are in comparison, I can't fathom choosing Blue ever. She almost does the right thing, but she always ends that by doing the complete wrong thing, and I'm left feeling betrayed by her, even though she might not actually deserve that. 

Domenic was also an interesting character. I longed for more of him in the book, because I couldn't figure out why Nora was so drawn and attached to him so quickly. I never felt like he was worth her affections because I couldn't figure him out. I wasn't given enough of his character to decide who and what he was. Maybe that's intentional-to keep us guessing on Domenic. 

I totally did not expect the ending, but I thought it was a fantastic way to finish the story. That's the only thing that made sense. And when it comes down to it, it does make sense. Of course that's how it is. How else could it be? I just never expected it. But looking back on the novel, I should have seen it coming. Lutz left clues all along. I just missed them and didn't add two things together to get that outcome. 

Loved this book. Highly suggest it. Read it when you have enough time to finish it because you won't put it down until the last word.