I had an odd relationship with this novel. I didn't like any of the characters very much, yet the plot was constructed in such a clever and intriguing way that I was pulled onward. I am a sucker for the lure of a long-forgotten family secret.

People seem to find this book funny ("Hilarious!" claimed the quips & quotes on the back), but I thought it was incredibly sad, countries and families repeating cycles of dysfunction with alarming regularity. I suppose the final pages offered a shred of hope, but by that point I'd pretty much written all the characters off as bad jobs.