I may not be able to finish this book. Not only has the author confused "affect" and "effect", "breeches" and "breaches", called a male person of Mexican descent "Latina"--twice--but also, at the end of chapter 17 he suddenly forgets the name of the main character and calls him by another name. Twice.

Maybe the moon was in Gemini. Retrograde.

The list of characters continues to grow. I should have reserved a whole notebook page for it, rather than just the back of an envelope.

I'm wondering if I should offer my services as a proofreader for his next novel. I'm pretty good at it, and fast.

I'm sure I'm not the only person to be put off what should be an excellent novel by the author's editor's inability to proofread the manuscript. Don't they teach English in school any more? Bah, humbug!

(And no, to answer the question everyone always asks me, No, I'm not a retired English teacher. I just read a lot and kept my brain turned on in school).