The choice to have stevens have an emotional reaction at the end of the book was inspired by tom waites. A boy heard this like, moving song about a guy finally having emotions at theend of his life. And he was like, all right, tom waits, i got o change my book. Think stevenss is doing that just far enough in advance o the, youi, of the end of his life,. That you the reader getn to think that he's getn to get to sort of enjoy himself here at the endof it.