Following the drum Book

I read this book years ago when it first came out, remembered it fondly. I was surprised to find that when reading it again the awkward writing style intruded tremendously. There were awkward and lengthy sentences that led to awkward and lengthy paragraphs that just seemed to wander through the author's memory, sometimes with little direction. It was like listening to a lecture by a stodgy old professor who sometimes got off topic and didn't realize it. It was a struggle to make myself finish this book.