I think one of the blurbs said that this would remind me of The Well of Loneliness, but since I hadn't read that book before this one, it reminded me more of Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (thankfully this novel didn't have James' super run on sentences).

It's the story of Jefferson. We first meet her when she's a very little kid and then we get to go along on her life. Through all the ups and downs (And a few slightly sideways trips). A lot of it took place in the New York, and some of it in New Hampshire. I'm not sure if it's because I'm more in touch with a New England than a New York City sorta life, but, I liked that part of the book just a little bit more.

Like Portrait of a Lady it took me quite a while to get into the flow of this book. What can I say, I read many many more plot driven fiction novels than I do character driven ones, and this was definitely character driven. Some of that I liked, some of it I didn't. I think my favorite two characters were Gladys and Lily Ann, but I also wound up liking most of the characters in New Hampshire as well. I also liked how I could tell what point in time it was by the narrative. No specific dates needed.

For those looking for a quick read this isn't it. But for someone looking for an in depth interesting character study, this book is the ticket. ( )