Great Epigraph - You Tell Me From There

Only one thing I can say for certain about "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" (2009) by Jamie Ford - I love the Duke Ellington epigraph the author chose: "My poor heart is sentimental, not made of wood; I got it bad and that ain't good."  

Talk about a roller coaster. I was up, then down; drawn in, turned off. But I never stopped turning those pages. Anyone glancing at the notes I made while reading might be tempted to prescribe medication. Lots of questions; few answers. Here's my first impression note, about one third through the novel:

"Serviceable prose with brief chapters that propel the story along; will be an easy read - Is that a good thing? Or, an indication that I'm unchallenged?"  After reading less than 25 pages more, here I go again:

"Against my better judgment, I was moved by the scene at the Seattle train station when Henry tries to get Keiko to wear his button. Am I letting sentiment (there's that Duke Ellington word) take sway over sense? Does it matter?"

And so on, although it did get even more Sybil like as the end neared. Like the Duke song said "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good".