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for 2/3 of this book, i was pretty sure it was going to make it onto my favorite books ever list. i was SO involved in it - the story telling nature of it and the different points of view and the deeply developed characters. his writing blows me away.

and yet. i found things getting too disjointed and wondering why chapters included minor characters with only loose ties to the main story. and then i felt like some of the characters that should have been more central, i had no sense of the way their lives progressed over the 53 year time period he covers.

and while i don't feel like there always has to be a happy ending, this one made me sad in a way that i felt cheated for the truly"good" people in the stories. and some of their tales felt unfinished. i feel like there could have on more voice or chapter that could have woven a good story in that gave us a better sense of connection and gave us a stronger sense of hope.

I read a few other reviews that talked about the central theme of the book being choices made by people in the past and their impact on future life events and relationships. and that some of the kind characters make unkind choices and vice versa. so in that way, i do think he tied all the stories together to that theme. but from a strictly story telling viewpoint, i felt a little knocked around and left hanging. and still, i give it 5 stars but i just couldn't bump it up to my all time favorites list.