>>Don't you think that humans make idiotic choices anyway and that books like that are representative of the chilling adrenaline of stupidity, rage and ignorance that courses through all of us? <<

I think you can have a protagonist that makes bad choices and one we might not even like that much, but at the very least we understand (the job of the narrative, right?). I think my issue was with this book that I never felt invested in the characters enough to "understand" their choices - it just became annoying and aggravating. It's that kind of discomfort I get when I watch a movie/show and I just can't avert my eyes, but something terrible and frustrating is happening (in comedy shows like "The Office" and "Arrested Development" they call it "squirm worthy" as I read once by a writer...). With "The House of Sand and Fog" I squirmed, but never enjoyed the discomfort, you know? Does that make sense? Anyway, I liked the book much more than the movie. I watched the movie with my husband and he said he felt very confused and in the dark - I told him a lot was told via narrative so that's why it felt somewhat empty in some scenes. It's difficult to convey a book into a movie and I just didn't like either enough, in this case, to be convinced.