I breathed a sigh of contentment after the first couple of pages. It was such a relief to be so obviously in the hands of a master (especially after traipsing through lots of literary "eh" in the not-too-distant-past).
I was a big fan of the movie based on this book and, while I wouldn't say either is better than the other, the book is definitely a match for its adaptation. It's just so smart about the way that couples relate -- or fail to relate -- to each other and to other people. There didn't seem to be a single false note. Though the story felt at times almost too heavy, it's always human. I alternately loved and loathed both April and Frank; Yates made it possible to simultaneously understand them even as I sat in judgment of them.
A-
