You're definitely getting through it faster than I did! I do have to say that some central stuff happens in some of the footnotes, though, so don't get too far behind.
Having the audiobook helps. I got up to the footnotes that start turning into chapters and then decided I'd put them off until I had time to sit down and read through them for an afternoon. Being an expert procrastinator, that afternoon has yet to materialize.
It will be a lovely afternoon. Also, I can't for the life of me listen to any audiobook except for nonfiction or very casual fiction, I too easily lose track of what's going on and can't like, build the story in my head that same way as I can when reading. I keep seeing the stream of words in my head, and am not translating it into like, a metaphysical space where I am processing the symbols themselves, or letting my imagination run along with the novel, if that makes any sense. It seems to work fine for most everyone else, so it's just me, but the best I can do well is podcasts, cause they have a conversational tone to them that makes it easier to sort of put on the backburner and enjoy. I wish I could do it a lot more easily, I have way more time to listen than to sit down and read.