Is it possible that Irving has a dozen second-best books? I love that this is narrated so successfully by a woman, and that he was so able to write an entire book about how messed up a girl's entire life can be based on poor relationships with men. It's kind of mind-boggling. The movie "The Door in the Floor," is the story of the first third-ish of this book and does a really good job. If you liked that movie, you haven't even seen the best of it.