It's no secret that my first fiction book, No. 1, is a bit of an enigma. Anyone who sets out to read it may be perplexed or perhaps even annoyed. It's an odd book, but something I couldn't help myself to write. I loved writing it. And I still think it's a great book, something I find myself re-visiting regularly to enjoy. But here I wanted to put together a reading guide for the perplexed, not to explain everything, because I think the search is a part of the fun; instead, this guide will give an overview of some of the major themes, motifs, and influences, as well as a clear explanation of the story-line. You don't need to have read the book already to benefit from this guide, because it also acts as a kind of introduction to the book, encouraging you to take the leap into the strange new world of No. 1 I've tried to craft. At the end I offer an extended preview of the book for this reason.