I finished the book!

Once I got started on the last section, I flew right through.

I can't tell you exactly what happened, or what point the author was trying to make. But, I can say that there were some really lovely bits of prose (including, at no additional cost, random capitalization, Britishisms and page-long paragraphs).

The good news is now I can start a new book, which I will (hopefully) finish before Labor Day.