Passing a middle-aged couple in matching jackets:
---You two need to change.
---What? Why? The middle aged couple said, to my head, in my head.
---Because you are wearing the same jacket.
---We bought them on vacation in Newport.
---You must be hidden from view.
---The jackets are nice.
---They are not nice. Think of the children.
I argued with strangers constantly, though only in my cloudy skull, while always I adopted this hollow admonishing tone -my grandmother's I guess -which even I couldn't stand. The silent though decisive discussions were a hobby of my mind, debating people I knew or passed on the road while driving:
---You, driving the Lexus.
---Me?
---Yes, you. You paid too much.
---What?
---You paid too much and your soul is soiled.
---You are right. I have failed but will repent.
It helped me work through problems, solving things, reaching conclusions final, edifying and even, occasionally, mutually agreeable.
---You, on the motorcycle.
---Yes.
---It's only a matter of time.
---I know.

These passages provide some comic relief and will ring a bell with many readers. All people engage in this sort of silent judgment to an extent, which makes it easy for the reader to identify with the main character, feel a common bond with him, and also become familiarized with how Will will be communicating aspects of himself to the reader. Will uses this technique when thinking about his friend Jack. According to Will, Jack was killed in an automobile accident several weeks before the action in the story occurs. Throughout the novel, Will is constantly reminded of and tries to reconcile the fact that Jack is dead and he and Hand are still alive. The internal debate tears Will apart and makes it hard for him to heal and move on. The reader will empathize with Will as he tries to make sense of a senseless death, an act that most of us have had to struggle with. We will also identify with Will's sense of urgency to GO; for when he is busy, distracted and moving he feels at his best and is granted temporary respite from his grief.

I found that the paperback version of this novel (the version I am reviewing) was actually re-named Sacrament when published (before being changed back to YSKOV), and contains a major addition not included in the original hardback. This startling addition comes in about two-thirds of the way through the book, and will make the reader reconsider everything that has come before and all that follows. To say anymore would ruin the surprise and emotional response that one will experience as they read.