I'd unknowingly watched the film of this story (or rather forgotten that I had when I bought this), so as I began reading it felt weirdly familiar. Once I'd finished and figured it out, I realised that, as ever, quite big chunks and elements were missing in that adaptation. But to speak about the book specifically, this is another that I'm really glad I read. It's my kind of story, with character-driven development in a small world. The wrangling that occurs between people and local factions is well-written and very relatable to many people, I'm sure. The feeling that you're living in a different time is evident, and the prose is beautiful. Without wanting to spoil it, there's a device in use which I don't clearly understand the reason for, which is perhaps why I don't remember it being in the film, though I haven't seen it for 6 years, so I may just have forgotten! It just felt out of place, but didn't detract from my enjoyment of the tale.