My thoughts about this book are extremely conflicting. On the one hand, the book was extremely well written, well researched, and well executed. It accomplished exactly what it was trying to - a tragic and touching multigenerational saga, full of unexpected twists, political upheaval, spanning multiple cultures and jumping back and forth in time. Not to mention how well-done the medical side of things was (albeit very gruesome) - not surprising for a doctor, but appreciated nonetheless. I learned so much, which is something I value, but none of this unfortunately can change the fact that I didn’t really enjoy myself. Again, the first person perspective from Marion was well-written, but I just couldn’t connect with him as a character beyond just feeling bad for him constantly. He wasn’t unlikeable, but he wasn’t like-able either.  The book was extremely long - some of the character’s backstories dragged on much longer than they needed to, and as soon as something did pique my interest, it felt like the author would jump into another backstory that lost me again.  That all being said, the last quarter of the book was incredible - fast-paced, exciting, and had me hooked while still being lyrically and significantly written.  I tabbed several beautiful quotes, and am looking forward to discussing the book with my mom and grandma, but if it weren’t for the book club, I don’t know if I would have gotten through it.