A family saga that feels both sprawling and intimate, a portrait of war-time England, and a wonderfully moving depiction of loss and love. Each and every one of these characters is so richly developed, all the way down to the youngest children, and Howard is a master at third-person POV. I felt like I knew and sympathized with every character deeply. I was also really struck by how precisely it captures the ordinariness of living in extraordinary times and the resilience we're capable of. Despite its length, the pages practically flew by.