Picked this up because apparently a classic of American literature. The characters are deep and detailed (and mostly very unhappy) and the author does very well giving you a chance to understand and sympathise with even the worst of them. However, I had a very hard time getting through this book because absolutely every aspect of the story is entirely tied up with religion (evangelical Christian), which not only saves the main character in a rather unbelievable ending but also seems to have caused most of everybody's problems in the first place.