Drowned Hopes

The book manages to be funny while exploring serious themes—did the author intentionally set out to create this contrast or did it evolve naturally?

The characters seem morally ambiguous, which made me question what I was rooting for. Was that intentional to highlight human imperfection?

The gritty yet humorous atmosphere is so vivid—I'm curious whether Westlake drew from personal experience or crafted it entirely from imagination.