Long and rough but good
935125
A little long and I'm 5'8 and bought a large. Also were rough but once washed were better.
1589700
Long book. I almost stopped reading half way through.  But I kept going and it turned out well.  It gets slow in the middle.  But it is worth continuing.
2561152
A love story thru many generations. But a frustrating one. You want to get to the bottom of it, and when you do, hmmmm a bit contrived. Worth your time, though.
2467839
Alex was a little rough around the edges and at times I had a hard time liking him and rooting for him. At times Sutton came off as a doormat throughout most of the story and I wasn't sure I wanted her and Alex to end up together. With that being said overall I did enjoy this book and I am glad I stuck with it. This book deals with some serious topics and I was impressed with how much Bennett researched the topics and how she used them in this story. This was not a lighthearted romance it had grit and it was rough to take at times but I still enjoyed it. The characters are damaged and flawed in many ways and just trying to live their lives the best they can when love got involved.
4942015
It's the proper plotline wrap-up to the splendid Tiffany Aching cycle by Pratchett but it's obviously just a rough version, without the style and verve that would have been layered on if the author had been allowed more time.  Some parts are much more finished than others; the opening sequence is very good and quite touching.  It's worth reading just to understand where Terry wanted the characters, and their world, to go.
3342575
Good book  however it was a bit too long. The detail  was very moving but needed less.
1129017
The Story Bound to Sarah, is a romantic image driven journey through a dark part of English history, its 330 pages long but the story should really be 500 pages, its a really good story, but it feels squeezed down at 300 pages and some plot lines are cut out prematurely.  The editing rather than the writing is what disappointed me for example in a dramatic part of which there are many, the defendant in the case managed to convince the judge with his heartfelt speech, not to be put to the scaffold. (But as readers we didn't hear the speech) There is also a person who is very minor and hardly mentioned through most of the book but towards the end becomes Pats best friend (only surviving friend) and accomplice and is an important part of the story at that point but your wondering what was his story again? Where was he during the voyage?  So its easy to complain about this or that, some occurrences seem to defy the very long odds of it ever happing in that manner.  Clearly a great deal of research went into the writing of this book, and the dialog was believable and characters well drawn, you really felt the barriers and life struggles of early 19th century England. The journey across the Oceans to a prison colony in Tasmania and the difficult life there until a sort of redemption and peaceful existence finally emerges.  This story reminds me of a Charles Dickens workhouse, or Victor Hugo,
Jean Valjean just cant catch a break no how, nowhere.  Still by
Interminable struggle and integrity and strength of will especially driven by his desire to see his wife again our hero makes it past every obstacle its a good story Im sorry I can only give it three stars but the editing issues and improbability of this that and this happening like that at this moment well maybe once I can credit it but it happened at least twice in the book and I thought that was a little too much for me.  I will say this is the best three star book Ive read and I plan the read his other book as well as well as recommending this one to anyone who enjoys a good historical fiction as long as they don't mind stretching their ability to suspend their disbelief for the stake of a good storyline.
2219550
This is a good read and I'm glad I bought it, but the beginning is a little rough. I get that the author is trying to build Nikki, the best friend, character, but she is soooo hard to take. I'm pretty sure I would have punched her in the throat by page 15 :D

But overall it's a good story and I enjoyed reading more about the band - I'm looking forward to the next installment.
3243045
It took me over a year to get through this tome including taking breaks to read other books.  There are lengthy sections in this book that I had to skim because they go into such detail and are only loosely related to the plot and central characters.  Many of the characters have become my role models (the Bishop and Valjean himself mainly) and others I just want to slap in the face.  Sometimes, in the middle of loads and loads of details are scenes of such power that I am able to wade through pages of overwhelming history and description.  This story is definitely worth the time commitment just be prepared to stick with it for the duration.
1447543
Too much narrative for me. Was a very long drawn out story, and took forever to get to the grit of the storyline. Once it got there it was a good read.
4852306
This is a big novel and by that I mean it has some serious characters and themes that span multiple decades -- it tackles a lot.  It's also long (perhaps too long).  Wolitzer is a very talented writer and tells an engaging story with interesting plot turns, character development and dialogue.  However, the main character - Jules - is ultimately just hard to like.  She is plagued by lifelong insecurities and jealousy, clings to the past, and ultimately doesn't begin to mature until she reaches her 50s.  By the end of the book, I was sort of mentally exhausted with these characters and their lives, and while I enjoyed reading it, I was also happy to see it end.
4063224
I was asked to read this book so I did not quit . I found some of the characters descriptive section too long and tiresome to read.  I am glad that I finished reading because over all the story was good and the description will be useful in the next book.
410058
A little long winded ...but all in all a good book
878451
I enjoyed this book but it took about half the book before I figured out who the bad guys were and who the good guys were. Character development was lengthy and hard to follow. The message in the end was worth the confusion thought. Looking back, it was worth the trip.
1102367
A bit overlong in the beginning. An excessively detailed story of survival for most of 300 pages, but fascinating down the end. Worth the time and effort to read, though barely.
2073074
This was really hard to get into after the initial beggining. It was good but then it got very boaring with too many "wordy" descriptions and too many "ands", not enough action, or inter-action. But....i can't ever seem to give up reading a book once i have srarted no matter how boaring unless its just a bad book. This was not a bad book. Anyway it did start getting a little more interesting. I finished it, the ending was better. It was a self reflective type of novel and had a good message.
233980
Overall the story is a good one but I had a hard time not getting bored especially in the first half of the book.  I found the amount of description, while brings the characters and world to life, makes the story more drawn out than it should have been.  The end did not seem like an end at all and almost felt like the book stopped in mid sentence.  While I would buy the other two books of the series, I probably won't bother with it for a long long time.