There was some great writing, but I agree with everyone who said that the book should have been edited and made 20% shorter. I also thought that the ending was so dragged out that I gave up once I got through the resolution of Ester's marriage, which I found wholly unbelievable (didn't the younger brother die??), quite an interesting twist on "happily ever after"! I thought the relationship between Ester and Rivka became very interesting and more could have been made of it in the end. The modern characters were far less interesting than Ester and her world. I'm glad I read it, even though A.S. Byatt's Possession is a better written book.