The idea and the story are certainly intriguing. And there is no question that this book is a "page-turner".However, I found myself often frustrated with words, sentences, paragraphs, and indeed entire sections that were unnecessary and seemed, to me, to merely allow the author to melodramatically and poetically expound upon some irrelevant issue, whether allegedly related to the story or pertaining to some political or social issue of the time.
To be exact, the book could have lost about 150 pages and been much better for it. I decline to include spoilers, but suffice it to say that there are happenings in the book that I would have been ecstatic to have spent more time with... and other events that left me wondering what, exactly, was the point.
Nevertheless. If you are a reader who *enjoys* reading about someone else's life and do not necessarily need to be driven along by a solid, cohesive plot, then this *is* the book for you. You will find the emotions and thoughts of the characters immersing and often moving, and you will likely shed tears more than once. For those of you who are excited about the plot of an involuntary time-traveler who suddenly and unpredictably enters and leaves his love's life, this still may be the book for you, so long as you are prepared for some unnecessary chatter, cluttering your way to the end.
All in all. I certainly recommend the book to people who enjoy reading "drama" ("real life" type of books). And if you're looking for a good love story, this will no doubt tide you over until you pick up Wuthering Heights. (seriously. pick it up.) But if you're looking for a story that's told so well you forget that you're reading? Perhaps look a little further and come back to this when your expectations can be more easily attained.
THREE and a HALF of five stars.
