At first, the beginning seemed to go by slowly. After that, when things picked up a bit, I was surprised and pleased at how much I enjoyed reading it. I'm not quite through with it yet, but I could tell 200 pages ago that this book is a classic! It is a tale of great friendships that go through physical and emotional stress over a long period of time; it encourages us to examine our own lives and personalities more closely. I encourage everyone to read this extraordinary book!