I fully expected to dislike this book, anticipating it to be saccharine and overly sentimental. Instead, I found a series of almost-vignettes, charmingly describing the history of a family and the difficulties they faced. Whilst I found the book to be quite melancholy in tone, it is laced with a wistful humour that stopped it becoming too morose. There is a theme of identity running throughout, which forces the reader to reflect upon their sense of self and those closest to them. I did have to refer several times to the family tree at the front of the book (a little more tricky, as I was reading it on a Kindle) but thankfully the family lines were easy to follow (unlike, say, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's '100 Years of Solitude', where I spent as much time trying to keep track of characters as I did reading the narrative!). Overall, a surprisingly poignant and enjoyable read.