Excellent writing, wonderful ability to catch the oddities of childhood and of families, and often funny. My only warning is that this book is disturbing; there are murders and disappearances in it, which I wasn't expecting, but I stuck with it because I like Kate Atkinson and her writing. THe sequal is now coming out (Fall of 2006). I should say that I don't read thrillers like Cornwell, etc. Those readers are used to this kind of violence in a story. But there is humor and character study here as well. Just be aware that there are disturbing deaths too!