Secret note

I just started a new book, A Fairy Tale of New York by JP Donleavy. I bought the book over a year ago at a used bookshop, knowing nothing about the book or the author. I pulled it off the shelf because it somehow caught my eye, then the blurb on the back sounded quirky enough. But what made me decide to buy it was the note I found on the title page, written in a messy cursive handwriting:

Dearest Debs,
JP. Donleavy has always touched me more deeply than any other novelist.
When you read Fairy Tale of New York, as you laugh out loud, as a tear comes to your eye, I will hear your laughter, see the tear glisten, feel the glow of your soul's beauty warm my heart, where I hold you close.
Love,
John
12-99

I wonder what happened to Debs and John that the book ended up in a used bookstore. I certainly couldn't pass up buying the book, especially since it was only a few euros. And now I'm finally reading it. (Not for lack of books to read, since O just bought a pile of books, but I felt like putting off for a while longer some books that I really want to read. I can be a bit of a masochist sometimes.) I've only read two short chapters so far, and the writing style is quite confusing with changes in points of view (as far as I can tell) and a distinct lack of question marks where they should be (Mr Donleavy seems to be also allergic to commas, since they seem to be only used in very rare cases). But hey, there's eventually a character called Fanny Sourpuss, so that's at least something to look forward to.