I'm amazed by just how much I enjoyed this book. It's been about a week since I finished and I still keep thinking about it. I'll probably have to read it again in a year or so just to see if the impression I got was true or a case of simply reading something at the right place and time. 
 Warning: The ending does leave QUITE A LOT(!) to the imagination (I've actually dreamed an ending for poor Conway since reading this). So, if you are one of those who needs everything tied up in a neat bow, this is not the book for you. I also wondered about the packaging of the tale--it's presented as a story told to a friend about a story he got from another friend--but I think this was simply to allow for the very ambiguous ending. 
 Highly recommended!