Two things:
1) This is deserving of the one-of-the-great-classics-of-the-20th-century title.
2) Every book should be large print.

To elaborate on both:

This is a beautifully written, brilliantly characterized, and consuming read. I tend to hate historical fiction, but when it's done like this I love it completely.

Equally significantly, I accidentally bought the large-print version of this book, and now I want to do that forever.

Those are my two PSAs.

Bottom line: Read this book, and give large print editions the respect they deserve.

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pre-review

i should have paid more attention the first time. or any attention at all, rather.

review to come

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currently-reading updates

i read this in school and do not remember a single thing about it.

realizing i may have only pretended to read this in school.