In the first third of the book, I found it difficult to read. It had a number of art references and have not studied the subject I found myself unable to relate to their experiences or understand the characters on more than a surface level. It made the book difficult to pull yourself. However, once the events that set up the rest of the book had happened and the art references had diminished it was a lot easier to pull yourself into.
The second third of the book covered a number of years which was a change from the weeks of the trip itself. Vaughan manages to give you a large amount of information because of the area of time covered, without you feeling as though you've missed something or lost the plot. I actually preferred this section because you watch the characters grow and change and gain a better understanding of each of them.
Every one of the characters is vile in some way, a little over the humanely vile but not so much it's unbelievable. They're snobbish and entitled and yet, you're pulled into their actions and study their relationships with interest. Normally not having any likeable characters works against the story, but here it enhances the experience.
The ending itself has a sharp twist that completely changes your perspective of the book as a whole. You now look at the actions of each character completely differently as well as their growth and journey.
The writing is lush, plush and rich. You're transported into the upper echelons of society through the eyes of an outsider. It's complex and exceptionally written, a solid slow-burn drama that ends in a completely different place than you thought it would.