This feels less like a novel and more like an observation of the intersecting lives of the characters over a period of time. The presence and fear of the serpent is  pervasive, it changes people’s behaviour and impacts the way they live their lives. The writing is excellent, the narrative interesting enough to be unpredictable and it held my attention, but not engrossing enough to read it fast. I could have happily read a chapter a month and kept pace with the passage of time.