This is certainly a classic. It is the story of specifically a country, a class, and an era, which if they are not clear at the beginning of the novel they will be by the end. The characters in the book are very well developed and dissected. This novel was probably on the cutting edge when written, because one major theme of the novel is that women are not the property of men. Another theme of the novel is that you can't take it with you and love should be the most important thing in this life. If you want a book that is action packed, don't read this one! It is more a development of personalities rather than action. The story is great. My one BIG complaint is the copious number of characters that I just couldn't keep straight and had to keep looking back at a chart that I downloaded from the net to make sense of things. 736 pages 3 1/2 stars ( )