I spent two long days with this book in my hand, with my usual fervor an excitement for the intrigue of Wouk's characters, which are, most certainly, colorful and believable and very real. I left with a slightly sour taste in my mouth, however, as I am a dreaming seventeen-year-old, and the contented and quiet end of the heroine is totally devoid of the idealism which she once felt, and the glamor of which she once dreamed. Life does not turn out as any of the characters originally expected or wanted(I assume this is the general theme) and I guess I'm just a bit too young to be confronted with such a reality.