Reading Asymmetry was like reading two books by two different authors. I love the first part. Ms. Halliday's writing was spare and beautiful. I didn't skip a word. I was enthralled by Alice and Ezra. I appreciated Ezra's dry wit. The relationship between the two was so interesting. You pretty much knew how it would end because of Ezra's age. (I wondered if Alice was the writer he referred to as "a young friend of mine" who went on to write a surprising little novel) while being interviewed on Desert Island Discs. I hope so. I was then taken by surprise when that story ended rather abruptly. I couldn't get interested in the other story, maybe because I have read (and seen movies) about the Mid East too often these days. Perhaps other readers have a different reaction. My overall opinion of the book is positive and I do like Lisa Halliday's writing style and hope to read more of her work in the future.