i found the 1st chapter to be a bit of a slog as you say, but after that it picked up for me. and there were hints of what was to come in the 1st chapter. but

i found the 1st chapter to be a bit of a slog as you say, but after that it picked up for me. and there were hints of what was to come in the 1st chapter. but 100%, it was a little challenging to get into initially. i also took breaks reading it as i read other books. it can definitely be digested piecemeal as it's a collection of thoughts.