I'm afarid that I wasn't really impressed by this novel. Yes, there were some telling moments and a play of gentleness and sorrow as well as scenes of genuine emotion. But despite all that, I simply didn't enjoy the monotonous style. Possibly something was lost in the translation but so much of it was simply flat.
I didn't relate well to the various characters because I felt that generally the prose conveyed very little inner life. Of course that is not true of that final dramatic letter which carries an enormous emotonal ambience--not only in its contents but in the revelation concerning it.
In the end, I found that it was certainly well worth reading. It just didn't move me as much as it has others--which of course is a purely personal reaction.
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