How the film made you feel is what the book did to me. The film actually appealed a lot. Yes it does have issues, as you noticed. The race issue was one of those. The directors were seeking to create continuity between lives by using the same actors to play the various roles, despite ethnicity. The fake asians being the most obvious let down in that approach. I like the idea, given the central theme to the movie, but just a bit jarring in that respect.

But the fact that they managed to get that complex (and to me, underwhelming) book onto screen at all was a testament to the directors and screen writers. It would be interesting to hear whether the audio book appeals to you, if you do give it a go.