I don't look for anyone to say this is a great novel, although I do think it's a fine, fun read. But what I think is most interesting is that the character of Annie is so clearly a portrait of Brando and that so much of him gets into it.
The character of Annie Doultry is plainly a self-portrait of Brando. There are transcripts of conferences he and Cammell had, and Brando did a lot of improvising, playing the Annie Doultry character. Plainly he saw this as a part that he might play in a movie himself.