For the first half of the book I actually thought/wondered if Sam might be under the umbrella of asexuality which I thought would've been really cool were it so, as we don't often at all have asexual protagonists buuuut yea turns out that wasn't the case unfortunately. I was a bit worried towards the end that with Marx no longer in the picture that Sam and Sadie might get together romantically but I'm so glad they didn't!

Hmmm... I might need to check out 'The Great Believers' too! :O

Yeah, that's true honestly-- if the vast majority of characters were super likable that in itself would have been highly unrealistic, and I am glad that most characters I found kind of unlikable were so in a believeable, real sort of way. The narration was great, I think especially so since I listened to the audiobook as the female narrator for most of it surprised me by switching to a male narrator once the story is being told through Marx's POV and it really added another layer to the storytelling IMO.

Oh I agree, and I'm happy you ended up really enjoying it! I did not end up liking many of the characters but I did also enjoy the way a lot of themes were tackled and characterization written, dialogue-wise many of Sam and Sadie's arguments felt frustratingly believable/real too.

Also, my condolences to your experiences having worked with some of those types u_u I relate to that as well...