Tear Jerker / Not Simple

• Not Simple is a tearjerker from beginning to end, especially given that its anachronic order has the protagonist committing suicide in the beginning of the story after finding out the woman he loves is dead... which turns out not to be true, due to a case of mistaken identity. Believe it or not, it only gets worse from there.
  • Ian didn't kill himself. He was killed by mook thugs hired by Irene's father (who thought he was her boyfriend). Still, he'd pretty much given up on living anyway after thinking the woman he'd met three years ago had died. If Jim's novel is truly a memoir, it's Jim himself who ends up committing suicide a year after it's published. Considering the last page has Jim looking homeless and carrying Ian's hat, it's certainly possible that's the decision he made.