The boy's father was astonished, not by his son's rawing which to him was typical boy stuff, but the teacher's overwrought -- and female-centered -- reaction.
At times, he accents key moments with a deliberately overwrought burst of music, as if to give us a glimpse of the soap opera that Elizabeth's indie film project might well become.
Moving back and forth between storylines can also be disorienting, and Ms Shafak's penchant for using grand language for grand ideas can feel humourless and overwrought.