My book club raved about this; my feelings are mixed. It took me a long time, close to 2/3 of the novel, to get into the story enough to want to read it for its own sake rather than as just a book club pick. I like the medical and historical detail included in the story. The writing is superb and paints a beautiful picture. For most of the novel I found a couple of the main characters annoying to the point that I didn't really want to know what would happen to them. On the whole I'm glad I stuck with it although it's not something I would choose for myself.