I guess it's supposed to be pretty basic and boring before things kick off but goddamn. The writing is really weak and hard to get through up until you get to the big twists which everyone pretty knew about going in. Even with their reputation preceeding them, the twists are still plenty interesting in a surreal and visceral way, but they're a tad dark for my tastes and I don't know if they really needed such a bland lead in to work. I guess it's fine, just didn't hit super hard for me.