I have very mixed feelings about this book. As epic literature, it's truly astounding: it covers many characters over a period of many years. The Big Plot is gripping. But it wasn't an enjoyable reading experience -- it felt too much like work. I base my star ratings predominantly on my enjoyment level, not on abstract "greatness", because I want the Goodreads recommendation engine to recommend books I will enjoy reading. Thus the low rating, even though in some ways I loved this book.

There are something like 150 named characters, most of whom have a given name as well as several nicknames. I had to make notecards as I read so I could keep track of characters. This became quite important as the book progressed, because characters will show up again hundreds of pages after their initial appearance with no reference to their past activities or relevance.

The book is set prior to, during, and after the Russian Revolution. It makes a lot of references (without providing background) to events, people, and groups from this period, but readers without a semi-encyclopedic knowledge of Russian history are at a disadvantage because political and historical factors are central to the characters; if we are to understand them, we have to know something about the history. Wikipedia certainly helps, but it detracts from an immersive reading experience.